Obituaries Obituaries from page 77 Battle Over Survivors' Claims Reaches Congress I Nathan Guttman I The Forward Washington H olocaust survivors denouncing the Jewish establishment would be a spectacle in almost any Bloom's Jewish Cuisine venue — all the more so when it's under the bright lights of a congressional hearing. The issue at hand recently before the U.S. House of Representatives' subcommittee on commercial and administrative law was the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2010, a bill designed to give survivors and their www.NibblesAndNuts.com • • Same day express delivery!!! Shiva dinners, Fish trays, Deli trays Delivered 248-855 9463 Jewishcatering.com -Kosher ilitts al 1( 1 chocolat( sl 248-737-8088 NibblesAndNuts.com 18325 West Niue 1?oati Southfield. MI 480 -7 5 248-569-0020 Fax: 248-569-'50' It'it'it:irakaufmaiLt -om 78 October 14 • 2010 Obituaries heirs a right to sue insurance compa- nies that they believe have reneged for decades on their duty to redeem policies taken out by Holocaust victims before World War II. Most major American and internation- al Jewish organizations oppose the legis- lation, however, because of a settlement agreement forged years ago. So does the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors (AGJHS). The process in place under the agreement, they note, has paid out millions of dollar; and a successor process continues to pay out more. But it also indemnifies the insurance compa- nies against outside civil suits. A group of survivors unhappy with the results of the process has been pro- testing for years; the congressional hear- ing was their moment in prime time. The Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act would sweep away restrictions and allow the disgruntled to go to court. Introduced by Rep. Ileana Ros- Lehtinen, R-Fla., the bill has 37 co-spon- sors, 12 of them Jewish. That's less than half of the House's 30 Jewish members, reflecting the ambivalence that exists over this issue in much of the wider Jewish community. Some who previously sup- ported the legislation, like California Democrat Henry Waxman, now oppose it. The measure's lead support group in the Jewish community is the Holocaust Survivors' Foundation-USA, a Florida- based organization. The foundation and three dozen other groups representing survivors and their heirs told the hear- ing that they deserved their day in court. But Roman Kent, chairman of AGJHS, sent a statement to the subcommit- tee arguing that the legislation would endanger the payout agreements already reached and those still to come. The best course of action, he argued, would not go through the courtroom.