Sub-committees of the German and Israel delegations negotiating settlement of Israel’s reparations claims against the West German Republic were in session today on legal and other points involved in the offer by West Germany of payment in goods to the value of 300 billion deutschemarks ($715,000,000) to Israel over a 12-year period. Formal negotiations between West Germany and Israel were resumed here yesterday.
Negotiations between West Germany and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany were resumed today and the conferees discussed the Conference’s global claim of 500 million dollars in restitution for heirless Jewish property destroyed or confiscated by the Nazi Reich. Upon the request of the Germans, the Jewish delegation is preparing a detailed statement on the basis of its half-billion dollar claim and this is being handed the Germans tomorrow for discussion at the next plenary session on Friday.
In addition to this global claim, there will be a review of the agreements reached at earlier sessions on new indemnification legislation to be introduced by the German Government, Moses Leavitt, head of the Jewish delegation, said today.
Dr. Frans Boehm, head of the German delegation, left for Bonn today for consultations and there will be no further plenary sessions before Friday. Dr. Jacob Robinson, legal advisor to the Israel United Nations delegation, arrived here today to participate in the legal discussions.
One German-Israeli sub-committee sat today to discuss legal points in the drafting of a German-Israel agreement based on the Bonn offer. Another sub-committee sat to consider the amount and kind of goods with which payment would be effected.
When the Israel delegation was asked if this did not constitute virtual acceptance of the German offer, the reply was given that the Israel Government had accepted the German offer of three billion deutschemarks in goods to be delivered over 12 years as “a basis for discussion.”
The German offer, approved by the West German Cabinet and submitted to the Israel delegation at yesterday’s session, provides a total payment of three billion marks to Israel over 12 years in settlement of Israel’s billion dollar claim. The entire payment, according to the terms of the offer, will be in goods, unless Germany obtains loans from the United States enabling her to pay part of the settlement in cash. The goods would not be exclusively German but would also include wares of other countries obtained by the Germans under barter agreements. Israel would not be permitted to re-export any of these commodities without German agreement.
The Germans proposed delivery of goods to the value of 400,000,000 deutschemarks by March, 1954, and payment thereafter at the annual rate of 250,000,000 marks.
The Israel delegation made no formal response to this offer. Dr. George Josephthal, a member of the delegation, said, however, that Israel would only accept consumers’ and capital goods from Germany that would not involve further purchase of replacements, parts, etc., from Germany.
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