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SPECIAL HSF WEBSITE FEATURES English Translation of Dorner Commission Report
HSF has obtained an UNOFFICIAL English translation of the report of the State Commission of Inquiry into the Israeli governments' treatment of Holocaust survivors. The Commission was chaired by former Supreme Court Judge Dalia Dorner. The hard-hitting report was issued in June 2008, and has resulted in increases in monthly pensions paid to needy survivors in Israel. It also helped focus attention on the way funds from the Claims Conference are allocated in Israel. (NOTE: The translation is in Microsoft Word document format.)
German Property List Posted Sale or compensation of stolen Jewish assets have yielded over two billion dollars
September 2008 -- The Claims Conference has posted a list of over 11,000 former Jewish-owned properties and other assets in eastern Germany (including East Berlin) it has recovered between 1993 and 2008 and either sold or been compensated for. Proceeds for the listed property exceed $2 billion or 1.4 billion Euro (€). Names of original owners, however, were not disclosed by the Claims Conference.
Because the posted list is not in a searchable or sortable format, HSF has converted the data to a more user-friendly Excel file format to assist the public in accessing the list and locating family property. To open or download the HSF file, and for more information, click here.
Generali Litigation Timeline
The Generali Litigation Timeline is provided by HSF as a public resource. It features links to essential documents relating to a major Holocaust justice case covering a ten year period, including many court documents not currently available for free on the internet.
DOCUMENTARY FILMS OF INTEREST
"Paying for Justice: The Struggle Continues" (2008)
This documentary
by Guy Meroz and Orli Vilnai-Federbush aired on Israeli
television on April 30, 2008. A sequel to the 2007 film "Paying
for
SEPTEMBER 2008 UPDATE: The Claims Conference has filed a lawsuit against the documentary filmmakers to block the film's circulation. See the story here.
Meroz and Vilnai-Federbush's
original "Paying
for
"In the Name of The Victims"
This 2007 documentary film by award-winning director Ilan Ziv focuses on the role played by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, its decisions regarding the distribution of money to survivors of the Holocaust, and the shocking prevalence of poverty among aging survivors. UPDATE: The film is
no longer available for free online viewing. Click below for
a
preview:
 Claims Conference has reacted to the film,
and a
video
interview with the director. See also Ilan Ziv's
weblog
about the controversy over the film.
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This
website is still under construction. Visit again soon for updates & new
features. 
Justice
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NEWS UPDATE
"Battle for Holocaust Assets Roils Israel"
November 12, 2008 -- A front page feature in the Wall Street Journal describes the bureaucratic resistance & legal hurdles faced by survivors and heirs in Israel trying to claim land investments, bank accounts and other assets owned by their families in pre-war Palestine. Unclaimed assets absorbed by the State and private institutions have not been fully accounted for.
More details are found in Ha'aretz, including this tough editorial calling for justice and transparency.
ISSUE UPDATE
HSF Opposes Proposal to Subsidize European Insurers with Financial Bailout Funds Companies with unresolved Holocaust claims now seeking piece of the $700 Billion pie
October 28, 2008 -- HSF has submitted a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department in response to news reports that European-based insurers are seeking to benefit from the largest government rescue in U.S. history, part of the "the hottest lobbying game in town."
The Financial Services Roundtable, an industry lobbying group whose members include European insurers Allianz, AEGON, ING, AXA & Zurich, has urged the Treasury Dept. to expand the size of the government's planned stock purchase program designed to provide emergency financial support for banks, and to broaden eligibility to include foreign-based insurance companies and banks.
In the letter, HSF states that "[u]ntil the culpable insurance companies all disgorge their records and their unjust profits from the Holocaust, we believe it would offend basic notions of justice and integrity for Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars to subsidize their rapacious and immoral behavior." | Full Letter here
The Treasury Dept. collected public comments in October on a proposed Guaranty Program for Troubled Assets, part of the recently-passed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA).
ISSUE UPDATE
Vast Sums Devoted to Defeat H.R. 1746 Several Jewish Organizations, German Embassy join effort
Through September 30, 2008, the insurance industry -- led by Italian insurer Generali, Swiss Reinsurance, and the Association of Dutch Insurers -- spent over ONE MILLION DOLLARS on lobbyists opposing H.R. 1746. See the detailed and up-to-date breakdown here. This figure does not include the unidentified portion of time and resources expended by European-based insurance giants Allianz, Zurich, AEGON and ING, along with two leading U.S. insurance trade associations in opposition to H.R. 1746 as part of their ongoing multi-million dollar lobbying programs.
The industry trade group, the American Insurance Association, hired Mara Rudman, the former Chief Operating Officer of the International Commission on Holocaust-Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC), to represent their interests on the matter in Congress. See filing for 1st Quarter 2008 and 2nd Quarter 2008.
Three Jewish organizations also spent lobbying resources to oppose the bill: American Jewish Committee, World Jewish Congress, and the Anti-Defamation League.
Unreported lobbying expenses were also incurred by German Embassy officials, and officers and employees of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, opposing the legislation.
NEWS UPDATE
"Upstart" HSF among activists challenging the establishment
In its year-end review, the JTA news service highlights HSF's leadership in battle to pass Holocaust insurance legislation.
NEWS UPDATE
110th Congress Winds Down with Action on H.R. 1746 Unlikely
September 22, 2008 -- Latest news in Roll Call | Background and additional archived news coverage here.
NEWS UPDATE
Nazi-linked German Insurer Abandons Bid for New York Stadium-naming Rights
September 13, 2008 -- Germany's leading insurance conglomerate, Allianz AG, has abruptly dropped its efforts to negotiate naming rights for a planned New York-area football stadium after a spontaneous public outcry led by local Holocaust survivors. HSF Executive Board member Leo Rechter was quoted in the New York Times citing Allianz as one of the insurers "still preventing ...survivors from fully collecting on valid policies — or from finding them at all." See full coverage here.
ISSUE UPDATE
August 12, 2008 — Ten years ago, Swiss banks agreed to pay $1.2 billion as restitution to Holocaust survivors to settle claims for their assets. The largest portion of the settlement, $800 million, went to cover expected claims for "deposited assets" -- dormant funds in Swiss bank accounts never paid to rightful heirs. A claims process was established under a special Claims Resolution Tribunal.
Ten years after the historic agreement, only 60% of the deposited assets settlement, about $489 million, has been paid out. Detailed distribution statistics as of June 30, 2008 here. The fate of the remaining hundreds of millions remains undecided. The decision rests with Federal Judge Edward Korman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, who oversees the settlement.
UPDATE: $21 million in additional payments to 27 claimants were made during the three month period July 1-September 30, 2008, bringing the total payouts to date to $510 million, about 64% of the amount originally earmarked for the Deposited Assets category. Details here.
NEWS UPDATE
Der Spiegel: "Huge Profits Casts Shadow over Holocaust Survivors Organization"
One of Europe's leading newsmagazines features an exposé on the Claims Conference in its June 2nd edition. The story in Der Spiegel highlights many concerns voiced in the past by HSF, noting that "criticism of the powerful organization is growing in Israel and many are calling for greater transparency."
In related news, an Israeli court ruled on June 1 that the Claims Conference, which controls the distribution of millions in restitution funds allocated by the German government, "misled" and improperly denied claimants seeking to apply for one-time grants. The Court has ordered that the organization pay 1,365 eligible claimants living in Israel their due. See coverage in Yediot Ahronot (Ynet News) and Ha'aretz. The Court's published ruling is available in Hebrew only.
ISSUE UPDATE "Holocaust Remembrance is About Honoring the Living Too"
Anita Friedman, executive director of Jewish Family and Children’s Services of San Francisco, writes in the May 3rd edition of j. - The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California, "What would entitle us to call ourselves a community if we allow our most vulnerable members to live in loneliness and poverty?" See her column here.
NEWS UPDATE "Marking Annual Holocaust Memorial Day, Survivors Turn Anger Inward" - Claims Conference the Target of Wide Criticism
An Associated Press story highlights opposition among survivors to the policies, priorities and secretiveness of the Claims Conference, the main source of funding for survivor programs & services. Jack Rubin, a survivor and HSF leader, states, "There is nothing more important than the Holocaust survivors, and in the few years they have left they should live in dignity. That is all I ask of the Claims Conference."
A new documentary by journalists Guy Meroz & Orli Vilnai-Federbush has been broadcast on Israeli television. The film, "The Morality of Payments - the Battle Continues," which aired in conjunction with the annual observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, is critical of the Claims Conference's allocations and raises charges that its constituent organizations are engaged in 'self-dealing.' Israeli parliamentarians are calling for an investigation. More coverage in JTA, Ha'aretz and the UK-based Jewish Chronicle.
Earlier, the Claims Conference unsuccessfully attempted to block the film's broadcast.
Under growing public pressure, the Claims Conference has announced it will for the first time publish data on former Jewish properties in eastern Germany it has acquired and sold since the early 1990s.
SURVIVORS' VOICES
"Why Won't Those SOBs Give Me My Money?"
Holocaust Survivor Si Frumkin speaks out on Holocaust restitution in the Spring 2008 issue of Reform Judaism Magazine.
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Ten
Year Anniversary of Swiss Bank Settlement
© 2007-2008. Holocaust Survivors' Foundation-USA, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Email: contact@hsf-usa.org