Detroit proudly
Series
The Jewish Community Center of Metropoli
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d Peace
Israel: A Journey
ay 18
March 14, April
had no dormant accounts," says Riki
Carmi, Bank Leumi's spokeswoman.
"We always said that we do have dor-
mant accounts and there may be some
that date back to the Holocaust."
But Leumi — believed to hold the
most Holocaust-era accounts of all
Israeli banks — says it is not to blame.
Many accounts were confiscated by
the British Mandate in Palestine,
which seized all property. belonging to
citizens of enemy states during World
War II.
In addition, the bank said, any
accounts it did have were transferred
to Israel's administrator general many
years ago.
"This is why there is not much
money in them," Carmi says. "We are
talking about very low sums."
Meanwhile, since Katz first discov-
ered the problem, he has delved into
archives in Israel and Britain to pro-
duce a book, soon to be published in
Hebrew, Forgotten Property: What
Became of the Assets in Israel of
Holocaust Victims. Katz estimates that
Israeli banks and the government's
administrator general may hold $64
million worth of financial assets
belonging to Holocaust victims.
Furthermore, he says many parcels
of land — perhaps worth even more
than the financial assets — were pur-
chased in pre-state Israel by European
Jews who died in the Holocaust.
"The question now is how will the
committee work," says Katz. "This
committee must consult with experts
from various fields. If it misses the
point and remains a political forum, it
will not be worth anything."
Colette Avital, a former consul gen-
eral in New York and now the Knesset
member heading the committee,
insists its work will be serious.
Since announcing the formation of
the committee in mid-February, she
has received about 40 letters a day
from heirs of victims who claim they
have assets in Israel. "Many of these
people have been corresponding exten-
sively with some of these institutions
and have been given a runaround,"
she says.
Avital says the issue has not been
seriously addressed until now because
survivor groups feared that launching
a campaign in Israel would undermine
efforts to secure a deal with Swiss
banks and European companies.
"I think the contrary," she says.
"We can come up with a clearer bill of
conscience by saying that we are inves-
tigating."
Judging by the initial response,
there will be plenty to investigate.
"Enemy Property
1.)
Avital's finger appeared to be pointed
at Israel's Administrator General's
Office.
During World War II, the British
Mandate in Palestine confiscated all
"enemy property," including assets
belonging to Jews who were citizens of
European countries under Nazi control.
But according to a report published
by Britain's department of trade and
industry last month, Britain is not
liable for any claims since it settled all
accounts in a deal with Israel in 1950.
Shmuel Tsur, Israel's administrator
general, insists that his office has a
clean record since it published all
records of property in its possession
two years ago, including 1,000 homes
and 4,000 plots of land worth an esti-
mated $50 million.
His office received "hundreds" of
queries since then, but has never sifted
through the files to determine what
property may have belonged to
Holocaust victims.
"I knoW that some of the property
belonged to people who perished in the
Holocaust," says Tsur. "To determine
this, I must make a more thorough
investigation and I intend to do so."
Tsur welcomes the establishment of
the committee, since he thinks it may
prove that much of the public uproar
has been unjustified.
Yet even if Israel does hold assets
that belonged to Holocaust victims, the
question remains whether its record is
comparable to that of the Swiss.
Bobby Brown, adviser to Sallai
Meridor, co-chairman of the World
Jewish Restitution Organization, says
that at least regarding heirless property
there is a fundamental difference.
Israel, he says, had to absorb hun-
dreds of thousands of Holocaust sur-
vivors after World War II, so any use
it made of heirless property is morally
justified.
Nevertheless, he adds, when it
comes to property that can be identi-
fied and claimed by heirs, Israeli insti-
tutions and banks must live up to the
same standards as Jewish organizations
expect from- any government or coun-
try around the world — namely that
claimants must be compensated with a
reasonable reassessment of the assets'
value today.
"I think this committee is not
going to find a lot of money, but it
will find a few outrageous stories
that must be addressed," says Brown.
"If we have demanded justice in so
many countries, it should be done in
Israel, too." ❑
at t
JCC's D. Dan and
gene and Marcia Appleba
6600 West Maple Ro
ing
unity Campus
field, MI
Tuesday, Marc
ct of Israeli Do
p.m.
e Peace Process
azoo College
ry Mahler,
:30 p.m.
el Today
sday, Ap
ty of Michigan
nd
om n Denominator
unity Council
Jewish Co
Indepe ence Day
0 p.m.
8, 2000 •
eli So
sassinati
Th
The Impact of
Yuval Rabin,
alom, speaker
An
chairma
Arthur Horwitz, publisher,
r Jewish News, int iewer
Co-sponsored by the wish Fed don's Michigan/Israel Con
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mation an
sh Life and Le
servations, please call
Department at
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C's
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