The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is lobbying the US Congress to pass a resolution demanding the administration make an Israeli-Palestinian agreement contingent on compensating Jews from Arab countries for looted property.
WJC secretary general Avi Becker told “Globes” that the measure was the next stage in its public campaign for restitution for Jewish property in Arab countries. The WJC has held four meetings with Jewish emigrants from Arab countries, experts, and public figures in the US, Canada, and France. Another meeting will be held in London in late June.
The WJC does not plan to operate in Israel, since it believes the authority to act lies with the Israeli government. A few months ago, the Ministry of Justice announced it was establishing a registry the claims of immigrants from Arab countries, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prefers to let the matter lie, for fear the Palestinians will make similar claims.
“Globes” investigations have found that the value of private Jewish property in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, amounts to $10 billion in real terms. The World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC) estimates the total value of private and communal Jewish property at $30 billion.
If the WJC-proposed resolution is passed, it would be, it would only be a Sense of the Congress, that does not bind the administration. However, it would have a public impact. The House of Representatives and Senate have passed pro-Israeli resolutions with huge majorities in the past, and would probably do the same for this resolution as well.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on May 21, 2003