What concerns me today is the zealous quest for restitution without regard for consequences. A protracted discussion and debate could bring a high price for the Jewish people, for history and for memory. We need to understand that there is no absolute justice. We can only hope for a measure of justice, a symbolic justice that demonstrates an accounting and accountability. Since the Swiss settlement there has been a rush for restitution.
Some lawyers see it as an opportunity of a lifetime.
Some politicians see it as a way to gain Jewish support. There is no place for ambulance chasers in this serious and sacred undertaking. But, I do not want Holocaust victims used as political footballs or tickets for financial gain, One of the lead attorneys in the Swiss case Ed Fagan, is now traveling the world seeking new clients. In Poland he remarked that if Hitler moved across Europe from West to East looting and robbing, he, Mr. Fagan, would move from East to West reclaiming the losses. There is no place for ambulance chasers in this serious and sacred undertaking.