(Communicated by the MFA Spokesperson)

Israel welcomes and praises the Serbian government and parliament for adopting a law providing compensation for heirless Jewish property seized during and after the Holocaust.

This new law is a noble act of historic and moral justice, reemphasizing the historic solidarity between the Serbian and Jewish people, and should serve as a model for other European states.

About 85 percent of Serbian Jews were murdered during the Holocaust by the German Nazis and their collaborators. Most of the Jewish families were annihilated, leaving no heirs. Under the new law, the Serbian government will act to restore to the Serbian Jewish community property owned at the time by Jews which is still being held by the state. It will also transfer to the Serbian Jewish community an overall sum of €24 million over the course of the next 25 years, thus ensuring new life for the Jews of Serbia and its Holocaust survivors in various countries, including Israel.

This outcome was the result of cooperation between the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) and the Serbian Jewish community, as well as the involvement of the European Shoah Legacy Institute (ESLI).