Delegates from Germany, Israel and Australia gathered in the Italian capital yesterday to determine the amount of compensation which the Jewish State should pay for the holdings left behind by Protestant “Templars” when they were deported by the Mandatory Palestine Government during the war, because of their avowed Nazi sympathies.
The “Templars” are a Swabian sect who settled in Palestine during the 19th century and, after many vicissitudes, prospered as farmers. Almost all of them embraced Hitlerism with such vigor that, at the time of Rommel’s advances in Africa, the British shipped them to Australia as a precautionary measure. About half of them remain there, the other half are making their way to Germany.
Negotiations were begun in Copenhagen last July and recessed in August, after a tentative agreement had been reached that there should be a blanket settlement of all Templar claims rather than individual indemnification. The Israel delegation, both in Copenhagen and now in Rome, is led by Gershon Miron, top executive of the “Delek” National Petroleum Company of Israel. It also includes Chaim Kadmon, the General Administrator of Israel National Property, and Eli Nathan, of the Israel Foreign Office Legal Department.
Because many of the Templars have become Australian citizens by now, an observer of the Australian Government is also present. The German delegation is headed by Dr. Wolff, of the Ministry of Finance, and by Dr. Abraham Frowein, a non-Jewish lawyer who is in charge of the Israel desk in the German Foreign Office.
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