and their European counterparts, open
their books to show how many
Holocaust victims were insured and if
the companies paid off the claims of
survivors."
Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) has
authored a bill that would bar foreign
insurance companies from doing busi-
ness in this country unless they fully dis-
close their Nazi-era life and property
insurance policies.
In a more con-
troversial move,
Sen. Robert
Torricelli (D-N.J.)
and Sen. Arlen
Specter (R-Pa.) are
promoting a non-
binding resolution
urging that
Eliot Engel:
Poland, Hungary
Open the books.
and the Czech
Republic be denied
NATO membership until they resolve
disputed Holocaust-era insurance
claims.
But the Clinton administration,
which has made NATO expansion a
high priority, opposes the pending legis-
lation; so do several Jewish groups,
including the American Jewish
Committee.
Last week's hearings also included
evidence that some insurance firms
deliberately tried to sell policies to
European Jews before the Holocaust —
presumably because they knew claims
on those policies were unlikely.
"It is clear that the European insur-
ance companies undertook a deliberate
effort to target European Jews for profit,
before the Nazis targeted them for
destruction," said Sen. Alfonse D'Amato
(R-N.Y.). "These companies sought pre-
miums up front, with no expectation of
paying the claims in the end."
Jewish leaders say that the growing
congressional interest is their strongest
weapon in the restitution battle.
"What we're seeing is an intensifica-
tion of what began as an examination of
`Nazi gold,' said Elan Steinberg, execu-
tive director of the World Jewish
Congress. "We now understand the
term to be a shorthand reference to the
whole array of Holocaust-era assets
plundered during the Second World
War."
Congressional attention, he said, is
vital to force foreign governments and
companies to own up to their responsi-
bilities.
"The bottom line is that these people
aren't going to move because of nice
words and moral considerations; it
requires the stick of enforcement."

Israel's U.N. Status

Members of Congress, with backing
from pro-Israel groups, want to push
the United Nations to include Israel in
one of the body's regional blocs.
Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) has
introduced legislation putting Congress
on record as supporting Israel's inclusion
in the U.N. Western European and
Others Group (WEOG).
As a member of WEOG, Israel
would be eligible for a rotating slot on
the Security Council. Mr. Rothman
pointed out that Iraq and Libya, as
members of the Asian regional group,
are eligible for that honor, while Israel is
not.
Mr. Rothman's legislation would
direct Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright "to do everything in her power
to secure a spot for Israel in WEOG,"
he said. "Among other things, she
would be required to solicit responses
from all WEOG countries to find out
their official position on this issue. Any
WEOG country that opposes Israel's
inclusion in the regional bloc must face
public scrutiny for that position."
In a meeting with the legislator late
last week, Ms. Albright indicated sup-
port for the proposal, and Mr. Rothman
has enlisted more than 60 co-signers,
including Rep. Ben Gilman (R-N.Y.),
chair of the House International
Relations Committee, and Rep. Lee
Hamilton (D-Ind.), the committee's
ranking Democrat. The measure also
has been pushed by the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee, the American
Jewish Committee and others.
But all that may not impress the
U.N. members who will decide on
Israel's inclusion.
"Basically, the legislation is a shot
across the bow to indicate Washington's
deep interest," said a congressional
staffer who is pushing the bill. "And it's
a signal that there could be additional
legislation if countries don't move to
give Israel her rightful place at the
United Nations."

NCJW Coming To Town

A battered President Clinton is on the
lookout for friendly audiences these
days, and he'll probably find one on
Tuesday when he addresses the triannual
public policy conference of the National
Council of Jewish Women in
Washington.
Mr. Clinton's decision to speak sur-
prised leaders of the group, but it fit in
well with its plans for panels and
Capitol Hill advocacy on a wide range
of social issues, including child care,

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