Holocaust survivors protest rally (Archives)
Photo: Dudu Azulai
Bank Leumi, Holocaust survivors seek arbitration on assets dispute
Association for the Location and Recovery of Holocaust Survivors' Property, bank agree to resolve four-year dispute via arbitration proceeding. Association claims bank holds some NIS 300 million, bank says figure incorrect
Bank Leumi and the Association for the Location and Recovery of Holocaust Survivors' Property have agreed to an arbitration proceeding in order to resolve the dispute surrounding the bank's holding of funds deposited in its accounts by Jewish clients before World War II.
Should the heirs of the Holocaust survivors represented by the association prove their case, the bank would have to turn over the assets it has been holding.
Rights
Tal Rabinovsky
In demonstration outside Bank Leumi, survivors claim bank holding NIS 300 million deposited before Holocaust; Bank Leumi: Protest organized by public relations agents
The dispute dates back to 2005, when the association surveyed the banks in Israel for any remaining assets belonging to people who perished
during the war.
The survey located assets in Leumi's trust – from its pre-1948 days as the Anglo-Palestine Bank – but the bank claimed the majority of the funds were confiscated soon after WWII began and transferred to London.
The association demands Leumi return an estimated NIS 300 million ($78.8 million) and has filed a civil suit to that effect. Leumi has rejected the claim, saying the assessment is inaccurate.
Nevertheless, the bank is willing to negotiate a settlement with the association.
The sides' consent to have the matter resolved via arbitration was brokered by a Knesset's Finance Committee's subcommittee, headed by Knesset Member Zeev Bielski (Kadima).
According to Bielski, who called the move "a positive step in the right direction," arbitration will be headed by three retired Supreme Court justices, who will render their decision within three months.
The arbitration, he added, is likely to save a costly legal proceeding, which may span years.
