Yeshivos and kollelim, especially those which existed in
Europe prior to the Second World War, are likely to be
eligible for money from the Reparations Fund established by
the Swiss Banks, according to the agreement made with them.
The overall sum of the reparations amounts to over a billion
and a quarter dollars. American Agudas Yisroel is currently
organizing a campaign throughout the United States in order
to apprise the Torah institutions about their rights, so that
they will be able to register on time, by this Friday,
the 22nd of October, 1999.
According to Rabbi Besser of American Agudas Yisroel, many
Torah institutions are likely to be eligible to benefit from
this Fund. "Institutions which can prove that their money was
deposited in banks in Switzerland will surely be eligible to
receive reparations. However, according to the agreement, if
any sort of assets, from sifrei Torah to buildings to
money, was seized by the Nazis or others during the war,
those who apply for compensation have no need to prove that
the money in the end reached the Swiss banks in order to
receive compensation."
Thus, any yeshiva or community which constitutes a
continuation or is the heir of a yeshiva or a community in
Europe prior to the Holocaust, or which can verify its direct
link with a Torah institution which was in Europe during this
period, should register immediately with the court.
The institutions must turn to the court in San Francisco. In
Israel they can contact Degel HaTorah in Bnei Brak between 12
and 6 p.m. (03 676 2622; 25 Ben Yaakov St.), or in
Yerushalayim 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. (02 537 1172; 8 Malchei
Yisroel Street). The contact is Rav Meir Wender, 02 537 2014
/ 053 679289.
Concomitantly, Agudas Yisroel is making efforts to found a
project which will investigate and compile a full list of all
of the Torah center and Chassidic centers which were destroyed
in the Holocaust. This list will also include information on
their restoration and rebuilding after the war.
Professor Reicher, the foreign relations director of the
Agudas Yisroel, and its representative in the United Nations,
wrote to all of the Torah institutions and kollelim
throughout the world, asking them for information for this
important project. "We hope that this project will serve as
an historical and factual base, which will provide a basis
for the legal and moral rights of the Torah world to receive
reparations," said Professor Reicher.
