Notice
TO VICTIMS OF ANTI-SEMITIC PERSECUTION IN FRANCE
WHO
Is A JEW FROM page 30
Despite the setback, Rabbi Regev
and Rabbi Ehud Bandel, president of
the Conservative movement in Israel,
believe the latest blow to the institute
might ultimately lead the Israeli courts
to legalize the local Reform and
Conservative movements.
For Rabbi Bandel, the institute is an
important part of Israel's ongoing dia-
logue about religious pluralism,
because it invokes Jewish unity. Yet he
also thinks the only real solution will
be a legal one. A ruling is pending in
the Supreme Court.
Public Support
Rabbi Bandel and Rabbi Regev believe
many Israelis want to be part of the plu-
ralistic movements, and support a more
progressive view of religion and state.
A recent poll by the Dahaf Research
Institute, commissioned by Rabbi
Regev's Israel Religious Action Center,
showed that 63 percent of 503 respon-
dents said the Reform and
Conservative movements should have
the same status as Orthodoxy.
In addition, 65 percent of those
polled favor freedom of choice in mar-
riage, including recognition of Reform,
Conservative and civil wedding cere-
monies. Likewise, 56 percent favor
recognition of Reform and Conservative
conversions, while 62 percent want the
Israel Supreme Court to be the arbiter
of issues of religion and state.
Rosenblum dismissed the poll
results as misleading.
"I'm not sure how much Israeli Jews
know about Reform and Conservative
Judaism," he said. "If they knew what
Reform is in America, if they put up
an advertising campaign showing
mixed marriages under a chuppah with
a priest, a ketubah with a crucifix,
marrying assistant rabbis to their gay
partners, then I think you would find
less interest in the movement."
He also noted that despite the public-
ity the non-Orthodox movements
received in recent years in their fight for
religious pluralism, they remained small.
"Both are active here and they
haven't attracted many adherents,"
Rosenblum said. "I don't think Israelis
are terribly interested in Conservative
or Reform Judaism for themselves."
Rabbi Regev, however, drew very
different conclusions from the poll
results. "We can conclude that a 2-1
ratio of Israeli Jews are saying,
`Enough is enough, we want a plural-
istic Israel, we want equality and rights
for all streams,'" he said. "It's clear to
me we're only dealing with a question
of time — not if, but when — and
that's what people are supporting."
.
Who may have had Bank Accounts in France during
the World War II Period and their Heirs
The French Government has established a Commission for the
Compensation of Victims of Spoliation Resulting from Anti-Semitic
Legislation in Force During the Occupation (known by its French
acronym C.I.V.S. and hereafter referred to as the Commission"). Its man-
date is to investigate and compensate claims by victims (or their heirs or
successors) of anti-Semitic persecution in France during World War II.
The Commission examines claims relating to any property frozen,
blocked, looted, or Aryanized in France during World War II.
Victims whose assets were confiscated by the French or German
Occupying goverments will be compensated by the compensation com-
mittee set up within the Prime Minister's Office after their claims have
been reviewed by the CIVS.
On January 18, 2001, the governments of the United States and France
signed an Executive Agreement (the "Agreement") which sets forth spe-
cific procedures for the handling of claims against banks by the
Commission, including claims relating to any kind of bank account, such
as checking accounts, savings accounts and safe deposit boxes. The
Agreement also provides for additional compensation for victims of anti-
Semitic persecution who may have had bank accounts looted.
This notice describes the provisions of the Agreement, as well as the
claims process, and provides important information about two other com-
pensation mechanisms, described at the end of this notice. You need not
he French, need not be assisted by a lawyer, need not pay any fees, and
need not even have any documentary evidence in order to file a claim.
The Agreement anticipates the dismissal of three proposed class action
cases in U.S. courts: two cases filed in the United States-District Court for
the Eastern District of New York (Bodner v. Banque Paribas, Case 97 CIV
7433 (SJ),(MDG), and Benisti v. Banque Paribas, Case No. 98 CIV 7851
(SJ) (MDG), and one case filed in California State Court (Mayer v.
Banque Paribas, Civil Action No. 302226). In each case, the plaintiffs
sued banks doing business in France during World War II, for actions
linked to the freezing, blocking and/or looting of account holders deemed
to he Jewish under German or Vichy laws. The Federal court cases against
all defendants other than two non-French banks, Barclays Bank and J.P.
Morgan & Co., with which separate settlements were reached, were vol-
untarily dismissed on March 27, 2001. The California case was also vol-
untarily dismissed on June 15, 2001.
The Governments of the United States and France have endorsed in the
Agreement the claims process of the Commission, and have declared their
interests that this claims process he the exclusive remedy for resolution of
all claims against banks which operated in France during World War II,
other than Barclays Bank and J.P. Morgan & Co., (hereafter, the
"Banks"), related to their activities in France during World War II. In any
future case filed in the United States against the Banks, the Government
of the United States will file a "Statement of Interest" with the court,
explaining that dismissal of the case would he in its foreign policy inter-
est.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY
You are eligible to apply for compensation if you or your family (including
heirs or successors) were Jewish (or considered Jewish under German or
Vichy laws) and if you believe that you or your family may have had any
type of personal or business account at a bank in France during the period
from September 1939 to May 1945. EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT SURE
WHETHER YOU OR YOUR FAMILY HAD AN ACCOUNT, YOU
MAY REQUEST A CLAIMS FORM AND FILE AN APPLICATION.
THE CLAIMS PROCESS
The Commission will investigate all the claims which are filed. In that
process, the Commission will have access to historical information from
French public archives and banks, including lists of over 56,000 war-time
account holders whose accounts were blocked under anti-Semitic German
or Vichy laws. The Commission will also consider any evidence provided
by a claimant. If after investigating a claim, the Commission recommends
compen-sation in a specific amount, that sum will be paid promptly by
the administrator of the escrow fund and the Caisse des Depots et
Consignations from a renewable US$50,000,000 escrow fund, established
by the Banks.
If the historical information available to the Commission confirms a
claimant's account(s) and account balance(s) and there is no evidence of
restitution on such account(s), the Commission is endeavoring to make
awards as rapidly as possible following filing of the claim. Deductions will
he made only for prior, proven restitution, relating to a specific account.
There will he no deduction in the case of compensation or restitution of
non-bank assets.
Under the Agreement, the Banks also have established a US$22,500,000
fund (the "Fund"), which will be used to make payments to claimants
who may have had a hank account but whose names (or the names of
their relatives) do not appear on any historical list and who otherwise do
not have other evidence supporting their claim. If you believe you have
such a claim, the Commission will accept an affidavit in support of your
claim. The Commission will refer the names and applications of claimants
having no other evidence of any account to the Fund. The Fund will
make initial payments of US$1,500 to such claimant within 30 days after
referral by the Commission. A second payment of up to US$1,500 may he
made by the Fund after July 18, 2002, subject to the amount remaining, if
any, in the Fund. TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A PAYMENT FROM THE
FUND, YOU MUST FILE A CLAIM WITH THE COMMISSION BY
JULY 18, 2002.
The French Government has also established a Foundation for Memory of
the Shoah. The Foundation's initial funding will be approximately
US$375,000,000, including approximately US$100,000,000 transferred by
the banks. The Foundation will distribute funds to organizations inside
and outside France, including those that aid elderly or needy Holocaust
survivors, and their families.
WHICH BANKS ARE COVERED BY THE AGREEMENT
The Agreement applies to claims against all banks doing business in
France during WorldWar II. This includes non-French-banks that operat-
ed in France through branches or subsidiaries, such as predecessor banks
of The Chase Manhattan Bank. As to Barclays Bank and J.P. Morgan &
Co., separate settlements have been concluded and are described below.
These settlements cover all bank accounts at those banks and their prede-
cessors during World War II.
HOW DO I PARTICIPATE
The Commission will investigate claims in the order they are received,
but will, however, give priority to claims by the aged, those in precarious
financial circumstances, those in difficult social situations, and to those
subject to referral tolhe Fund.
To obtain information or an application form, you may write to: The
Commission for Compensation of Victims of Spoliation, 1 rue de la
Manutention, 75116 Paris, France.
You may also-call 00.800.2000.4000 (toll-free international number) or
1.866.254.3770 (toll-free from USA).
You may also contact :
- the Simon Wiesenthal Center in The United States at 1.800.900.9036,
or in France at 33.(0)1.47.23.76.37;
- the Conseil Representatif des Institutions Juives de France (CRIF) at
33.(0)1.42.17.11.11;
- the Fonds Social Juif Unifie (FSJU) at 33.(0)1.42.17.10.10; or the
European Jewish Congress at 33.(0)1.43.59.94.63.
Information is alsO available on the Internet site of the C.I.V.S.
(www.civs.gouv.fr ) in French and English - and soon in Hebrew. From the
www.civs.gouv.fr Internet site, you may download and print the applica-
tion (including the questionnaire and forms for powers of attorney and
proxies), which you may duly submit to the Commission by mail or fax
(33.(0)1.56.52.85.73).
You may also send your application (or a copy) to:
- The Simon Wiesenthal Center, 64 Avenue Marceau, 75008 Paris,
France;
- the CRIF, 39 rue Broca, 75005 Paris, France;
- the FSJU, 39 rue Broca, 75005 Paris, France;
- or the European Jewish Congress, 76 Avenue des Champs Elysees, 75008
Paris, France,
- all of which organizations can assist you, at your request, in the applica-
tion proceedings. To be eligible for payments from the Fund, claims must
be received no later than July 18, 2002.
You may meet with representatives of the Commission in France or at
contact centers at many French embassies and consulates around the
world. You may also request that a representative to which you have given
a power of attorney, such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center or the other
organizations named above, meet with representatives of the Commission
on your behalf.
BARCLAYS BANK AND J.P. MORGAN
& CO. CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENTS
Separate settlements have been concluded with two other banks that
operated in France during World War II: Barclays Bank and J.P. Morgan
& Co. These settlements are different from the Agreement described
above. First, for Barclays Bank and J.P. Morgan only, the United States
District Court in the Bodner and Benisti cases has certified a world-wide
settlement class, such that these settlements will hind all persons who do
not exclude themselves by following the procedures in the mailed notice
for these settlements. Second, these settlements make available . to
claimants separate funds established by these banks to satisfy claims.
If you believe that you or your family had any kind of bank account with
Barclays Bank or J.P. Morgan & Co. or their predecessors, in France dur-
ing World War II, you may obtain information on these separate settle-
ments. You may also obtain information on the deadlines for filing objec-
tions or exclusion requests, and the claims filing deadline by telephoning
1.800.714.3304 (in the United States), 0.800.914.842 (in France) or
1.800.93.00.011 (in Israel), or by consulting the Internet sites: www.bar-
claysfrenchclaims.org and www.jpmorganfrenchclaims.org , or by writing to
the Barclays/J.P. Morgan Settlement Administrator at P.O. Box 9260,
Garden City, New York, 11530. If you do not know the name of the
French bank with which you or your family may have had an account,
please contact the Commission at the address listed above.
10/26
2001
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