Detroit proudly Series The Jewish Community Center of Metropoli presents its first-ever Shiffman Le 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 Fo mation an sh Life and Le servations, please call Department at ion C's -7649. ty Center of Metropolitan Detroit ing • Eugene & Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus 6600 West Maple Road • West Bloomfield, MI orris Building • A. Alfred Taubman Jewish Community Campus 15110 West Ten Mile Road • Oak Park, MI. The nationally acclaimed Brandeis University Hebrew Program presents its 4th annual Summer Institute. 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