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Newsletter : 9fax1207.txt
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>JN Dec. 7, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 226
Russia to Launch Israeli Satellite
By IsraelWire
Russia will launch an Israeli military satellite in the coming months, according to a report in the Israeli daily, Haaretz. The joint venture comes after talks between the Israeli Defense Ministry and Moscow and was reportedly approved by Prime Minister Ehud Barak. According to the report, the agreement between the two countries has the "understanding" of U.S. officials in Washington.
Audit Uncovers More Holocaust Swiss Bank Accounts
By Lisa Schlein (VOA-Geneva)
A major audit of Swiss banks has discovered as many as 54,000 unclaimed accounts, over 10,000 of which may have belonged to victims of the Nazi Holocaust. However, the long-awaited findings do not say how much money is in the accounts.
The report criticizes some Swiss banks for what it calls their callous handling of Holocaust victims and for sloppy record-keeping. But it finds no evidence of a major cover-up or that Swiss banks had conspired to steal the money held in dormant accounts.
Former U-S Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker heads the international panel that conducted the investigation. He says the panel did not find any systematic effort by the Swiss Banks to discriminate against the Jewish deposits, to destroy accounts or to withhold information.
"But the emphasis there is on the word systematic or concerted. We found a lot of evidence of individual reluctance to come forward freely and fully with information. There was an attitude, in some banks, of indifference toward the problem and a lack of sensitivity to put it mildly in dealing with these accounts."
The report says around 12,000 of the 54,000 accounts located may have some links with Holocaust victims. However, it says that won't be known until individuals come forward and their claims can be matched with the names on the accounts. A list of account holders will be widely published.
Volcker says he doesn't know the exact value of the Holocaust accounts because the Committee's information was too sketchy. However, he suggests that the amount falls well below the billions of dollars claimed by some Jewish groups.
The report says 417 accounts were closed at the request of Nazi Germany and their contents handed over to the Nazi authorities. The investigators also uncovered more than 1,600 accounts that they believe may have belonged to top-ranking Nazis or their collaborators.
The head of International Affairs at the Swiss Bankers Association, James Nason, says Swiss banks are pretty happy with the results of the report. He calls it balanced and fair.
"The report shows quite clearly that the wild and sweeping accusations and allegations made against Swiss banks about three or four years ago, were simply unfounded. In general there wasn't any evidence of a concerted effort to misappropriate funds from the accounts of potential Holocaust victims. And, there was no systematic destruction of records. So, that myth was dispelled."
The three-year-long exhaustive search for assets of Nazi victims cost $500 million dollars. As many as 650 investigators hunted down accounts in 54 Swiss banks which were operating during the Nazi Third Reich, from 1933 to 1945.
Madeleine Albright Expected Today
By Meredith Buel (VOA-Jerusalem)
A top Palestinian negotiator says he will not proceed with talks on a final peace agreement unless Israel freezes construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. The announcement came on the eve of today's visit by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Senior Palestinian negotiator Yasser Abed Rabbo says he will not continue talks on a permanent peace plan unless Israel agrees to stop the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Abed Rabbo stopped short of saying he is suspending the talks, but said he will not discuss any other issues until the dispute over settlements is resolved. He says the Palestinian Authority will lose credibility with its people if it continues negotiations while Israel builds more Jewish homes in the occupied territories where the Palestinians hope to establish their state. "A process where we are talking about our future and the bulldozers of Israel are determining this future - this is not a serious process."
The Palestinian negotiator made the remarks after a three-hour meeting with his Israeli counterpart Oded Eran in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Eran had no immediate comment after the talks.
Albright, who has criticized Israeli settlement activity in the past, is due to arrive late Tuesday in a bid to boost efforts to bring both sides together on the most difficult issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Talks remain stalled on implementation of interim peace agreements as well as so-called final status negotiations on issues such as the fate of Palestinian refugees, the borders of a possible Palestinian state, water rights and the future of Jerusalem.
Israel and the Palestinians are trying to reach ambitious, self-imposed deadlines of February for a framework peace agreement and September for a permanent peace treaty.
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