Israel to replace representative at Holocaust claims summit

Israel to replace representative at Holocaust claims summit

By Cnaan Liphshiz, Haaretz Correspondent

Tags: Jewish World, Israel News


Following complaints about conflicts of interest, the Foreign Ministry is considering sending a minister to represent Israel at the Prague conference on Holocaust assets, instead of a Claims Conference representative.

Reuven Merhav had been expected to serve as Israel's top delegate to the forum.

The June 26 Prague event will bring together delegates from 50 countries to assess progress in recovering looted property. This is a follow-up to a 1998 Washington summit.
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Currently, East European countries like Poland and Ukraine are refusing to divulge compensation statistics for heirless Jewish property, which is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars.

"Israel's position in Prague is unlike that of other countries," Deputy Foreign Ministry Danny Ayalon told the Knesset plenum on Wednesday. "I certainly am considering the option of appointing a minister to represent Israel."

Merhav himself proposed that a minister lead Israel's 12-man team, Ayalon said.

Ayalon was replying to a query by MK Zevulun Orlev, who said that while Merhav was "a worthy man beyond reproach," his nomination was "a conflict of interest."

Merhav currently holds a senior, non-salaried position with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the world's richest restitution body, which represents world Jewry in compensation talks with Germany.

The Claims Conference is currently under review by a parliamentary committee of inquiry, over accusations that it has withheld funds from survivors and heirs.

Politicians, prominent restitution figures and the Movement for Quality of Government complained that Merhav's nomination could render heirs of Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust "voiceless" at what may be the last international conference on restitution, citing the Claims Conference's "problematic record" in transferring funds to heirs.

The Claims Conference denies withholding funds from eligible heirs.

Ayalon noted that Merhav - a former Mossad and Foreign Ministry official - was responsible for putting the issue of heirless property in Europe on the agenda of the Prague Conference.

"The interests of the State of Israel and the Claims Conference are not identical," Orlev said. "For example, the Claims Conference may be concerned with commemoration, while Israel is focused on welfare," he told Haaretz.

Ayalon said that the Ministry's legal department has found there was no conflict of interest in Merhav's nomination.

"In my heart, I too have grievances with the Claims Conference," Ayalon said. He also noted that "working together is a major interest for the Claims Conference and Israel," and that the Prague Conference "could turn over a new leaf in Israel's relationship" with the Claims Conference