Israel was reported today to have protested verbally and in writing to the Government of Greece over that Government’s announced intention to limit West German restitution payments to persons who are Greek citizens when the law is adopted.
The Israel Foreign Ministry followed up the protests by sending its deputy legal-adviser, Zeev Argaman, to Athens to negotiate on the issue. If the citizenship requirements is retained, it will deprive many Jews in Israel, who suffered during the Nazi occupation of Greece, of compensation.
Under the agreement signed a few days ago between West Germany and Greece, West Germany will pay Greece a total of 115,000,000 marks ($28,750,000). The bill now awaiting Greek Parliamentary action provides that only those Jews who were Greek nationals during the Nazi occupation and as of the date the bill becomes law would be entitled to compensation.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
