Holocaust restitution group supplements list of known assets in Israel

The latest additions bring to 6,500 the number of bank accounts that the organization has published to date.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
money good 88 (photo credit: )
money good 88
(photo credit: )
The Israeli Organization for the Restitution of Assets for Holocaust Victims will publish an additional listing Wednesday of 3,500 bank accounts of Holocaust victims found in Israel, the group announced Monday. The latest additions bring to 6,500 the number of bank accounts that the organization has published to date, along with a list of 500 real estate properties. The assets and property lists - which will be published in Hebrew on the group's web site www.hashava.org.il - were amassed by the Custodian-General's Office, the Jewish National Fund and from a compellation of pre-war bank accounts that the Knesset has already published. Property and assets belonging to Holocaust victims estimated to run in the hundreds of millions of dollars have been held by various state institutions in Israel for dozens of years, and have, until now, not been transferred to their rightful heirs. Since the first list of known assets was published last month, the organization has received more than 1,700 requests for return of assets, the group said Monday. The organization plans to further update its listing in the coming weeks. The Israeli organization for the restitution of assets for Holocaust victims was established by the Knesset last year in an effort to uncover and return the assets of Holocaust victims to their rightful heirs. Tens of millions of shekels are believed to have been invested in Bank Leumi by Holocaust victims before World War II. The listing of Holocaust assets found in Israel will be published in English later this month. The organization is operating a multilingual hot line at (03) 516-4117 for all inquiries. The lists will also be available upon request by mail for those people who do not have access to the Internet. Unclaimed property and assets will be used to help elderly Holocaust survivors in need, the group said. Approximately 250,000 Holocaust survivors are thought to be living in the country. Nearly a third of them live in poverty, recent Israeli welfare reports have found, prompting growing calls for additional government assistance.