Informal talks have begun today between the delegations of Israel and Conference on Jewish Claims on how the goods delivered by Germany to Israel in behalf of the Conference will be converted into cash. Bonn has offered the Claims Conference $107,000,000 in goods, to be delivered in Israel, in settlement of the Conference’s demand for $500,000,000 in reparations.
Both the Germans and the Conference negotiating teams were determined today to settle their differences regarding the Conference’s proposed legislative program for the indemnification of individual victims of the Nazi regime. It is believed that by the end of the coming week nothing will be left to conclude except a few technical details in preparation for the signing of the written agreements. As far as the German-Israeli negotiations are concerned, they are virtually complete, except for drafting clauses concerning delivery schedules and types of goods to be delivered.
There seems to be a genuine desire on the part of all three delegations to nail down all points in final agreements which it is hoped will be water tight. These final agreements will take at least another two weeks to conclude, it is felt here.
One point that remains to be clarified is the Conference’s contention that its legislative program will not be as costly to the Germans as the latter fear. As for the political implications of the legislative program which the Germans fear, the Conference team is attempting to reach understanding on wording more acceptable to the Germans.
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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.
