Tuvia Friedman, head of the Nazi Documentation Center in Haifa, said here today that either the Israeli government or the Jewish Agency should have an official observer at all Nazi war crimes trials. He said the absence of such observers is interpreted as a lack of interest by the victims of the Nazis and may be the reason for the light sentences or acquittals in German and Austrian courts.
Friedman was commenting on the acquittal in Hamburg of Karl Streibel, a former death camp commandant, and five former guards who were accused of being responsible for the death of a million Jews. He said such acquittals would not be possible if Israeli government or Jewish Agency officials had been present at the hearings.
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