Terms of an agreement under which the West Berlin Jewish community will turn over the 279-bed Jewish hospital to the West Berlin Senate in return for payment of 5,000,000 marks ($1,250,000) were announced here today.
The problem stemmed from the fact that most of the hospital beds are occupied by non-Jews and that the few surviving members of the Berlin Jewish community had never been able to raise funds for the hospital operation. This necessitated regular subventions from the Senate.
As discussions proceeded over a two-year period, some West Berlin Jewish leaders favored establishment of a foundation which would be taken over by the Senate on the basis of the payment of 1,000,000 marks to West Berlin Jewry. Others opposed the idea on grounds that the actual value of the property, which includes a synagogue and Jewish administrative buildings, was five times that figure.
Under the agreement, the West Berlin Senate will pay 5,000,000 marks to the West Berlin Jewish Community this month. Starting next January, a Jewish Hospital Foundation will direct the hospital program as a memorial to the Jewish victims of the Nazi regime. The 5,000,000 marks will be placed at the disposal of the West Berlin public housing program.
Five members of the Senate and two representatives of the Jewish community will serve on the board of trustees of the hospital foundation. The synagogue and administration buildings, and all other facilities on the site, except the hospital, will be available for use without charge to the Jewish community.
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