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NEWS
Holocaust Claims Committee to Grant 1,315 Survivors
Restitution Grants
by Yated Ne'eman Staff
The Tel Aviv District Court ruled that the Israel Claims
Committee must pay 1,315 Holocaust victims a total sum of NIS
13.5 million ($4 million) or NIS 14,500 ($4,500) per claimant
after neglecting to carry out its task by not informing them
of the proper procedure to receive restitution grants from
the German government. A claim by another 550 survivors was
rejected because the statute of limitations had expired.
"The Claims Committee had an obligation to the claimants. It
had moral responsibility. It violated its concrete obligation
toward the claimants by not making available to them the
proper tools for reaching a decision. Most of all, it denied
them vital information of relevance to them. At the very
least it should have provided every applicant a booklet and
guidance in the language in which he or she is fluent," wrote
Judge Oded Mudrik. "In my opinion, the Claims Committee could
have faithfully and properly carried out its obligation to
the claimants without any conflict with its obligations
toward the German government, but it failed. Its failure is a
big failure."
The claim dealt with a one-time adjustment grant of 5,000
marks given at the time to Jewish victims suffering health
damage as a result of Nazi violence. The grant was given to
immigrants who arrived in Israel from the former Soviet Union
during the 1980s. The Claims Committee apparently set strict
eligibility criteria, demanding proof of 80 percent
disability or 50 percent loss of ability to work, though the
German government required only evidence of "substantially
impaired health."
According to recent media reports the Holocaust Claims
Committee has over $1 billion in unclaimed funds, much of
which allegedly goes to organizations that are not directly
involved with Holocaust survivors.
This brought to a conclusion the NIS 19-million ($6-million)
suit the Children of War Organization filed against the
Claims Committee. Semyon Werman, chairman of Children of War,
which was founded in the 1950s and represents dozens of
organizations, said he was satisfied with ruling, but added
that he anticipates another battle so that other survivors
would also receive restitution. "In our opinion, in all
matters related to the Holocaust using the statute of
limitations is not respectable," said Atty. Yoram Sheftel,
who represents the claimants. He also said he was shocked
that an Israeli judge accepted the statute of limitations
argument against Holocaust survivors and intends to appeal
the decision.
Atty. Uri Keidar, who represents the Claims Committee, noted
the organization has already transferred payments to 300,000
survivors, saying attempts to depict it as an organization
that does not hand out founds are misleading. He says the
Claims Committee conducted negotiations with the German
government in an effort to hammer out grant criteria.
"They're basically a pipeline working with the German
government and it's not their money," he explained, saying he
would file a High Court appeal against the ruling.
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