12,000 Needy Survivors in Israel Get Direct Payments of Restitution Funds

Ha'aretz and other news outlets report on the direct payments planned over the next few weeks to indigent survivors in Israel. The $1500 payments are the second such distribution by the "Company for Restitution of Holocaust Victims Assets" -- a quasi-public, non-profit entity set up to "return assets of Holocaust victims to their rightful heirs and use heirless property to help survivors." The funds will have immediate benefits for survivors struggling with healthcare, housing and other urgent needs, who have fallen between the social service cracks. A third of survivors in Israel live in poverty. Some additional funds will be granted to welfare agencies serving poor survivors.

There is a certain refreshing simplicity to this kind of justice -- direct transfer of cash to people in need, without funnelling all the available funds through intermediary agencies. The law establishing the agency stresses aggressive searches for heirs and requires that assistance to survivors takes precedence when heirless funds are distributed. It is arguably more "just" and practical than the problematical Swiss Bank settlement awards (see previous blog post), and the free latitude of the Jewish Claims Conference to distribute restitution funds it controls for purposes far removed from human welfare needs, such as memorials and remembrance projects, including many grants to its own member organizations. Deep dissatisfaction and outright opposition to the old ways of handling unclaimed Holocaust assets and handing out precious funds in part led to the creation of the "Company."

The Israeli process has not been without its own administrative and accountability problems, and the direct payments also reveal the complexity of administratively and legally defining who is a Holocaust survivor. The historical categories are certainly real: those who fled but never directly suffered under the Nazis (mostly older Jewish immigrants from the Former Soviet Union) had a different experience and don't qualify for the payments.

It seems that, in Israel, their poverty requires another approach.

The Disturbing Failures of the Swiss Bank Settlement

Writer James Smalhout, writing on Barrons.com website, shares background and a personal family perspective on the failings of the 1998 Swiss Bank ("Holocaust Assets Litigation") settlement. Smalhout points out inadequacies & inconsistencies in the court-supervised claims process, and is incredulous about the large amount -- well over a quarter billion dollars -- of settlement funds still undistributed to victims and heirs over a decade after the settlement between the banks and claimant lawyers was signed.

Smalhout sees the actual claimants as effectively voiceless -- locked out of the process. And his essay raises questions anew about the motives and legitimacy of those who led the campaign against the banks. It is unlikely, though, that his call for enlarging the settlement to more closely reflect the true extent of the theft by the Swiss banks will be heeded.

The real battle is over the use of the remaining settlement funds. That decision remains in the hands of U.S. District Court Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn, and has turned into a disturbing and murky spectacle. Grassroots survivors seeking the immediate distribution of funds to address urgent medical and welfare needs of poor survivors living in the U.S., Israel and other countries are pitted against Jewish organizations with their own priorities and revenue needs, not all of which are in the best interests of needy survivors. Korman and his advisors have lately floated an idea designed largely to skirt the conflict over the remaining settlement pie -- recalculating awards and enlarging payments to claimants. It seems more like a political solution than anything else. The soaring rhetoric about Justice we heard back in 1998 feels like a distant, corrupted echo today.

"Should the Killers Be the Victims' Heirs?"

Commentary by Esther Toporek Finder, member of U.S. delegation to the Prague Conference.

Rep. Robert Wexler's Address in Prague

Here is the text of Congressman Robert Wexler's speech at the Prague Conference on Holocaust Era Assets on June 29, 2009:

It is an extraordinary honor to be here, as a member of the American delegation to the Holocaust Era Assets Conference in Prague, with so many distinguished delegations, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and Holocaust Survivors and their representative organizations.

I want to especially thank the Czech government for hosting this Conference and raise the extraordinary efforts of the Friends of the Chair, the advisory board, working groups, Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, Ambassador J. Christian Kennedy, and countless others who have worked tirelessly over the past year to ensure the success of this Conference and finalize the Terezin Declaration -- in the noble pursuit of justice for Holocaust survivors.

Sixty years after the end of one of the darkest periods in history, it is clear there will never be perfect justice for victims of Nazi crimes, it is the moral obligation of the international community to continue to address outstanding Holocaust-era issues, including addressing welfare needs of Survivors, opening archives, expanding the reach of Holocaust education, protecting Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property, and ensuring that victims receive restitution or compensation for immovable property and Nazi confiscated or looted art.

Since the end of World War II, a concerted effort has been undertaken at the governmental and non-governmental levels to assist victims of Nazi atrocities. This process has been painstakingly difficult with many obstacles and setbacks. Despite courageous individuals, governments, and dedicated organizations – fighting to ensure a measure of justice for SHOAH victims – we are here today in Prague, 10 years after the Washington Conference on Holocaust Era Assets, to again address outstanding Holocaust-era issues.

It is self-evident that the international community has a moral responsibility to the victims of the Holocaust and to seek justice for those individuals who survived the SHOAH.

What primarily motivated me to participate in this Conference is the opportunity to again be an advocate for the needs of Holocaust Survivors in South Florida. I am particularly humbled to be in Prague, participating at this Conference with Alex Moskovic, a Survivor from South Florida and a leading member of the Holocaust Survivors' Foundation, who has testified before the U.S. Congress and is well-respected in Washington.

In October 2007, Alex, who is the only one of 41 family members to survive Auschwitz-Birkenau and Buchenwald, emotionally testified before the Europe subcommittee about the grave plight of aging survivors in the United States, including many that live below the poverty level and lack proper medical care. I was shocked by his stark description of the situation facing many survivors, in their advanced age, which is simply unacceptable and must be addressed.

Fortunately, the Terezin Declaration recognizes, what Alex and countless others have advocated for some time, the importance of addressing the welfare of Survivors and victims of Nazi persecution. The Declaration states that “it is unacceptable that those who suffered so greatly…should live under such circumstances at the end.”

While the Prague Conference and the Terezin Declaration clearly raise awareness and offer rhetorical support for addressing Holocaust survivors’ needs, it is essential that we act over the coming months and years to ensure that survivors, who endured immeasurable suffering and trauma and have special medical and social needs, are properly provided for by the international community.

I want to offer my support for the establishment of the European SHOAH Legacy Institute in Terezin. As envisioned, the Terezin Institute will follow-up on the work completed at the Prague Conference, breathe life into the Terezin Declaration, and serve as a central clearinghouse for Survivors, NGO’s, and governments as they determine the best methods and practices to assist needy Survivors.

The Terezin Institute will also focus on the restitution or compensation of immovable property. While many European nations have sought to resolve the complex problem of illegally confiscated private and communal property, there are governments which have made numerous promises but have not implemented legislation to provide compensation or restitution to victims of confiscated property or their heirs. Now is the time for these nations to follow the positive examples of their neighbors, and take bold steps toward enacting comprehensive property restitution or compensation legislation.

Again, I want to thank the Czech government and Conference organizers for giving me the opportunity to address this distinguished audience. I look forward to working with all of the conference participants in the coming months to implement the Prague Declaration and assist needy survivors in America and across the globe.

At Least Someone's Pleased

"Israel satisfied with outcome of the Holocaust Era Assets Conference"
Statement from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs

"Caring for our Aging Survivor Parents"

Formal presentation by Esther Toporek Finder
Special Session: Caring for Victims of Nazism and Their Legacy
Holocaust Era Assets Conference, Prague - Czech Republic, June 28, 2009.

Finder is a member of the Coordinating Council of Generations of the Shoah International (GSI), President of The Generation After (an organization for children and descendants of Holocaust survivors in the Washington D.C. area) and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the Prague Conference.

Wexler Comments

Excerpt from a Radio Free Europe interview with Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), who attended the Prague Conference and delivered a keynote address on Monday.

RFE/RL: You're here in Prague to take part in the conference on the assets of Holocaust victims. Are you satisfied with the proceedings?

Wexler: I'm satisfied that the interests of Holocaust survivors are being better addressed in this conference than they would have, certainly, been without this conference. And there has been, I think, urgent discussions on the issues of importance, such as property restitution, the collection of Nazi-looted art, and there's a very limited window of opportunity to help Holocaust survivors in their waning years.

And this conference -- and I applaud the Czech Republic government for sponsoring it -- this conference represents the last best hope to address the needs of Holocaust survivors, particularly in the context of the number of Holocaust survivors in America, internationally, who are in a condition of poverty. And the ability to provide restitution -- the monies to be used for the needs of Holocaust survivors -- is a noble cause. And I think we will be much closer to achieving a measure of justice for these Holocaust survivors, which is what we need to do.