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Study: Bank Leumi not obliged to return cash to Holocaust victims' heirs By Tomer Zarchin Tags: Theodor Or, Israel News  Bank Leumi is not legally obliged to hand over to heirs money it had held for people who died in the Holocaust, Justice (ret.) Theodor Or says in an internal report he prepared at the request of the bank's board of directors. Or was asked by the bank's board chairman, Eitan Raff, and legal adviser Ram Caspi to examine its liability in view of the demand of the state-owned Company for Locating and Retrieving Assets of Holocaust Victims for the funds. The company asked the bank in March for money in 1,299 accounts belonging to Holocaust victims, totaling some NIS 147 million. The company later asked for NIS 250 million more, from some 1,000 additional accounts in the bank. Advertisement Most of the sum consists of revalued accounts, after adding accumulated interest and linkage until 1960, when the bank passed them on to the Custodian General. In his report Or criticizes the parliamentary committee of inquiry into Holocaust victims' assets, headed by MK Colette Avital (Labor), saying that it has no normative validity. "The committee's conclusions have no binding normative validity. In many issues the law directives are different from the directives at the base of the inquiry committee's examination," he wrote. The bank has no legal obligation to pay the revalued funds of Holocaust victims, which it held dozens of years ago and passed on as required to the Custodian General, to their owners' heirs, Or said. "A Holocaust victim was not and could not be the owner of the retroactive revaluation increment. This addition did not exist during the victim's lifetime," he wrote. The directive obliging banks that held victims' money in the past to pay the revalued sums is an obligation that infringes on their property rights and is opposed to the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty. Bank Leumi refused to comment on the report, as the board has not reviewed its findings yet. A bank spokesman said the bank was examining the demands of the state-owned company for retrieving victims' assets. Bank Leumi has given the company NIS 20 million for Holocaust victims' heirs, he said. "It's astonishing that a respectable judge rules that the findings of the historic parliamentary committee have no binding normative authority," MK Avital commented Monday. She said that although Or was paid by the bank, she expected a judge of his standing not to make statements contradicting similar findings in the world and that have been adopted by the Knesset and cabinet. Unlike Mrs. Cohen from Hadera, who during the war could take care of her money in the bank, a person who was in Auschwitz was unable to take care of his money, and the bank did whatever it wanted to with it," she said. Avital said the report washing its hands of paying the revalued funds was "outrageous." She said the banks for years had invested the money of people who died in the Holocaust, and must return it at its true value. "The bank converted the money it held into ridiculously low amounts, and even the cabinet insisted it must be revalued," she said. "Then along comes mister judge, and the bank, instead of paying, starts dragging its feet again." Related articles: Germany: Our responsibility for Holocaust commits us to Israel McCain rejects pastor's support after 'God sent Hitler' comment 5 questions about Pastor Hagee and the Holocaust Bookmark to del.icio.us   Iran arrests blogger Hossein Derakhshan admitted to spying for Israel, claims Iranian Web site. Peace through sport Jewish and Arab youngsters are finding common ground through Hand in Hand.   1.   Judge Or & the rights of 6.000.000 murdered jews 08:14  |  Drs HJS Mock 18/11/08   2.   The German State does better by the descendants 15:08  |  samos 18/11/08   3.   It doesn`t surprise me 15:43  |  Zev Davis9 18/11/08   4.   speaking about morally despicable 16:01  |  for those left out 18/11/08   5.   as a Swiss native 16:03  |  wh 18/11/08   6.   Bankleumi -Shame 16:18  |  Joshua 18/11/08   7.   Bank Leumi customers should vote with their feet 16:36  |  Raquel Paz 18/11/08   8.   Disgusting 16:43  |  Sharon 18/11/08   9.   The Banking Industry, anywhere in the world, are thieves. 19:27  |  David 18/11/08   10.   BANK LEUMI AND THE HOLOCAUST MONEY 20:44  |  Roberto 18/11/08   11.   bank leumi 22:07  |  ruth 18/11/08   12.   bank leumi 22:11  |  RUTH 18/11/08   13.   sharpinchitown 01:02  |  Shari Peterson 19/11/08   14.   Banks not obliged to return Russian emigré money 04:25  |  Vierotchka 19/11/08

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