Last year, Fong imposed a four-month moratorium on investment in Swiss banks, lifting it in December when he found little support from the Jewish community and the U.S. government. Several times during the following months, Fong applied pressure, saying that sanctions would be reimposed if he did not see progress on the issue. To those critics, I say, they worked. Sen. Barbara Boxer, in a letter to Jewish leaders, lauded the agreement. Among the survivors, first in line should be those from the former Soviet Union and other Communist countries, who have never received any compensation, he said.
Every penny belongs to the Holocaust victims.
The same point was made in stronger language by Si Frumkin, a leader of the survivor community in Los Angeles. I am gratified that the thieves were finally forced to give back what they have stolen. Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center, endorsed the efficacy of the pressure campaign, comparing it to the victories scored against South Africa's apartheid policy and the Soviet Union's barriers to Jewish emigration. Claims against Swiss and other European insurance companies are not covered by the settlement. The lead Jewish organization in the three-year confrontation with the Swiss banks and government has been the World Jewish Congress, but the Wiesenthal Center backed one of the class action suits.