The Jewish Agency executive today appointed a five-man committee to investigate the possibility of transferring Jewish heirless and communal property from Germany and other European countries to Israel. Dr. Nahum Goldmann, chairman of the American section of the Agency, will head the body.
Jewish heirless property in Germany alone is estimated at about $2,000,000,000. The estimate is somewhat less for Poland and other countries in Europe.
Advocates in Israel of the transfer of heirless property to Israel claim that the Jewish state can be built even if only a part of this property is obtained. Their opponents argue that the transfer means helping Germany through receiving German goods. The newly appointed committee will seek to find a solution acceptable to both camps.
At the same time, the committee will investigate what part of the property can be utilized here and how it will affect Israel’s economy. A full report by the group is expected to be submitted to the Agency plenary session next week.
At a press conference here Dr. Israel Goldstein, former treasurer of the Jewish Agency, revealed that 25,000 claims for Jewish heirless and communal property have already been field in the American zone of Germany. The Agency, he said, may receive “many millions of pounds from these sources in the form of prefabricated houses and other items needed in Israel, but it will take time.”
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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.
