Letters
22 October 2002
Dear Mr. Dangoor,
I read "The Scribe" Issue 75 with great
interest and I compliment you on the tremendous effort
that went into it. I also read your letter to me written
in January, 1975 after the first Congress in Paris.
Even though 27 years have passed there has been no
change in principles or understanding.
Since 1987 1 have ceased to manage the affairs of
WOJAC together with the late Leon Taman. We have always
taken care to place emphasis on two things; One, that
WOJAC should have branches in all the world's capitals
and that its management should be a combination of
Israelis and non-Israelis, because the claims were
made by Jews from Arab lands, some Israelis and some
not.
Our second emphasis was that if the Israeli government
should come to an understanding with the Palestinians
and the Arab countries that the demands of both the
Palestinians and the Jews from Arab countries will
be written off, then the State of Israel will assume
the responsibility of compensating the Jewish claimants
both in Israel and abroad.
I am happy to say that the U.S. government absorbed
our explanation and
President Clinton, before he left office , stated
that there would be established an international fund
that would be provided by the Eight Great states,
the Arab States and Israel and that this fund would
individually compensate Jewish and Palestinian claimants.
This is a reasonable solution that should be adopted.
With thanks and esteem. Mordechai Ben-Porat
Chairman of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center
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