Israelis Sue Swiss Banks for Looted Deposits
Two Israelis are preparing to file a $260 million lawsuit against the Swiss government and two Swiss banks for allegedly refusing to return money and valuables deposited by their parents shortly before World War II.
The plaintiffs say they intend to file the lawsuit next week in U.S. court, under a U.S. law enabling them to sue foreign states in matters pertaining to the Holocaust.
“We tried to negotiate with the banks and with Switzerland, but they lied to us and cheated us,” says M. Katz, one of the plaintiffs. “We now understand they never intended to return the property deposited with them by the Holocaust victims.”
Katz – a 59-year-old resident of Modi’in – says he intends to sue the Union Bank of Switzerland, Credit Suisse and the Swiss government for $185 million. He claims the banks have systematically concealed documents related to his mother’s accounts in order to prevent him from getting his money.
For more, got to Haaretz.com
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
