Contact: Max Rosenblum or Jacob Kraus
202.387.2800 | news@rac.org
Washington, D.C., November 3, 2015 – In response to the implementation of a new compensation program for individuals who were deported from France during the Holocaust, Barbara Weinstein, Director of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement:
We welcome today’s launch of a new claims process negotiated by the U.S. and France to compensate Holocaust survivors deported from France. For too long, many of those who survived deportation have not had the opportunity to receive compensation. This $60 million fund financed by France and administered by the U.S. State Department will help address that grave shortcoming.
More than 70 years after the end of the Shoah, this fund reflects the fact that nations continue to have a responsibility to those who suffered under the Nazi regime. We will work to ensure that individuals within and beyond our Movement who are eligible to receive compensation learn about the program and access it fully.
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The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is the Washington office of the Union for Reform Judaism, whose nearly 900 congregations across North America encompass 1.5 million Reform Jews, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, whose membership includes more than 2,000 Reform rabbis. Visit www.rac.org for more.
