By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
The Israeli organization for the restitution of assets for Holocaust victims will publish in English on Monday its listings of thousands of bank accounts of Holocaust victims found in Israel, the group announced Sunday.
The assets and property lists - which will be published on the group's Web site (www.hashava.org.il) - were amassed by the Custodian General's office and the Jewish National Fund from a compilation of pre-war bank accounts already published by the Knesset.
The restitution organization was established by the Knesset last year in an effort to uncover the property belonging to Holocaust victims estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, held by various state institutions in Israel for dozens of years, and transfer it to the owners' rightful heirs.
The lists were published in Hebrew in June.
Property and assets not claimed will be used to help elderly Holocaust survivors in need, the group said.
Approximately 250,000 Holocaust survivors are thought to be living in the country. Nearly one-third of them live in poverty, recent Israeli welfare reports have found, prompting growing calls for additional government assistance. - E.G.