Holocaust Victims' Assets Law (Restitution to Heirs and Dedication for Purposes of Assistance and Commemoration), 5766-2006
חוק נכסים של נספי השואה (השבה ליורשים והקדשה למטרות סיוע והנצחה), תשס"ו-2006
Published: 2006-01-03Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2025-08-14 · Last amended 2024-08-14✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-29
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More
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The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.
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Section C: General
Fruits of an Asset§
13.
The provisions applicable to the transfer of an asset pursuant to this Chapter shall also apply to the transfer of the fruits of an asset.
Date of Transfer of Assets to the Company§
14.
(a)An asset that is to be transferred to the Company — ownership of the asset or management of the asset, as the case may be, shall pass to the Company at the date on which possession thereof was delivered to it, and if an originating motion was filed with the court pursuant to the provisions of section 11(a) — at the date determined by the court.
(b)If the period for the transfer of an asset of a Holocaust victim to the Company has elapsed, as referred to in sections 5(a) or (b), or 10(a), as the case may be, and possession of the asset has not been delivered to the Company, ownership of the asset or management of the asset shall pass to the Company, as the case may be, at the date prescribed in those sections for the transfer of the asset, unless a person has notified pursuant to the provisions of section 10(b) that he disputes the asset being an asset of a Holocaust victim, provided that the Company has delivered to every person known to it to be holding or managing the asset a notice that he is required to transfer the asset to it as referred to in section 10.
(c)The General Guardian, a managing person or a person as referred to in section 9(a) shall not be entitled to transfer to another an asset of a Holocaust victim that he is required to transfer to the Company pursuant to the provisions of section 5(a) or pursuant to the Company's notice as referred to in section 10(a), as the case may be, and he shall not be entitled to transfer to another any right in such an asset or to carry out any other action that may prejudice the transfer of such an asset to the Company, except with the approval of a court or with the prior approval of the Company.
Registration of Assets in the Name of the Company§
15.
If among the assets transferred to the Company, including pursuant to section 14(b), there is an asset in respect of which rights or actions therein require registration in a register maintained under a legislative provision, the Company shall notify the Registrar accordingly, and the Registrar shall register an appropriate note therein; once such a note has been registered, no right or action in the asset that contradicts the content of the note shall be registered; nothing stated in this section shall derogate from the right of the Company to register its rights in the asset in any register maintained under a legislative provision.
Linkage Differentials and Interest Committee§
16.
(a)A committee of five members shall be established, to be appointed by the Minister, for the purpose of determining the rates of linkage and interest in respect of assets of Holocaust victims that are monies or securities, and for the purpose of determining the periods in respect of which the rates of linkage and interest referred to are to be calculated (in this section – the Committee); notice of the appointment of the Committee shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
(b)The following are the members of the Committee:
(1)three academics with expertise in economics or economic history; the provisions of section 9(a) of the Administrative Tribunals Law, 5752-1992 (in this Law – the Administrative Tribunals Law) shall apply to the appointment of members of the Committee pursuant to this paragraph;
(2)an academic with expertise in economics or economic history, to be appointed upon the recommendation of organisations listed in the Second Schedule;
(3)the Director General of the Ministry of Finance.
(c)The Committee shall determine the rates of linkage and interest, with the aim of reflecting the value of the assets had a reasonable person acted to invest them in a reasonable manner, at the relevant times and in the relevant circumstances, however it shall be entitled to take into account, in determining the rates of linkage and interest, also the purpose for which the assets are intended.
(d)
(1)Decisions of the Committee shall be adopted by a majority of votes;
(2)The quorum for proceedings of the Committee shall be three committee members;
(3)The Committee may invite to its proceedings also a person who is not a committee member;
(4)The Committee shall appoint the secretary of the Committee;
(5)The Committee shall determine its working procedures and proceedings, to the extent that they have not been prescribed in this Law.
(e)The Committee shall have the powers vested in a commission of inquiry under sections 9 to 11 of the Commissions of Inquiry Law, 5729-1968.
(f)The Committee shall complete its work and submit its conclusions to the Company not later than within three months from the date of establishment of the Company.
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Contact Us →Chapter IV: Tracing of Heirs and Holders of Rights in Assets and Restitution to Heirs
Section A: Collection of Information
Investigation for Tracing Heirs and Holders of Rights§
17.
(a)The company shall conduct an investigation for the purpose of collecting information relating to assets of Holocaust victims that have been transferred to it pursuant to the provisions of this Law, as well as other information that may assist in tracing the heirs and other holders of rights in such assets.
(a1)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 31 of the Population Registry Law and subject to any law, if in the course of an investigation referred to in subsection (a) a need arises to inspect documents in the Population Registry for the purpose of tracing the heirs and other holders of rights in assets as referred to in that subsection, a registration officer may provide to a representative of the company, at its request, documents from the Population Registry required for the purpose of tracing the heirs and holders of rights as aforesaid and to the extent required for the fulfilment of that purpose; for this purpose —
"Population Registry Law" means the Population Registry Law, 5725-1965;
"representative of the company" means a person appointed by the Director General of the company as a representative of the company for the purposes of this subsection;
"registration officer" means a person appointed as a registration officer pursuant to section 4 of the Population Registry Law.
(b)The company shall commence the conduct of an investigation as referred to in subsection (a) in respect of an asset no later than the end of one year from the date on which the asset was transferred to it, in accordance with rules that it shall decide upon having regard to the value of the asset and the information in its possession concerning the asset and its owners; such rules shall be published on the company's website.
(c)The Minister may prescribe provisions with respect to investigations referred to in subsection (a), including with respect to the limitation of the duration of investigations, and may prescribe different provisions in relation to different types of assets, including in relation to their value.
Demand for Provision of Information§
18.
(a)The company may require a person to provide it with information, documents, particulars and explanations in that person's possession, which it requires for the purpose of carrying out its functions under this Law.
(b)A person who is required to provide information, documents, particulars or explanations as referred to in subsection (a) shall provide them to the company as soon as possible and no later than 30 days from the date of receipt of the demand.
(c)If a person refuses to comply with the company's demand under this section, the company may apply to the appeals committee in order to compel that person to comply with the demand.
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Contact Us →Section B: Special Process for Tracing Heirs and Holders of Rights
Publication§
19.
(a)
(1)The company shall publish, within three months of the date of its establishment, the list of assets of Holocaust victims that have been transferred to it up to the date of publication, and it may also publish details in respect of assets that have not yet been transferred to it but whose details have been transferred to it by the General Guardian, an estate administrator or another person holding or managing them (in this Chapter — the first publication);
(2)The first publication shall include the name of the last known holder of rights in the asset (in this Chapter — the Holocaust victim), the name of the state as it was on the 17th day of Elul 5699 (1 September 1939) in which the Holocaust victim's last known place of residence or last known place of stay was situated, insofar as these are known to the company, and the type of asset; if the name of the state as aforesaid is not known to the company but the name of the state in which the Holocaust victim acquired his rights in the asset, or in which other acts connected with that acquisition were carried out, is known to it, the company shall publish those details;
(3)The details referred to in paragraph (2) shall be published on the company's website and among major Jewish organisations throughout the world, and shall be made available for public inspection at the company's offices.
(b)The company shall publish, at the time of the first publication, in two daily newspapers in the Hebrew language with wide circulation in Israel and also in newspapers outside Israel and among major Jewish organisations throughout the world, a notice that includes an explanation of the publication referred to in subsection (a) and its significance, the details it contains, the places where it appears and the ways of contacting the company.
(c)At the end of six months from the date of the first publication, the company shall publish, in respect of each asset that appeared in the list of assets in the first publication, in the manner referred to in subsection (a)(3), also the name of the locality as it was on the 17th day of Elul 5699 (1 September 1939) in which the Holocaust victim's last known place of residence or last known place of stay was situated, insofar as it is known to the company, as well as the name of the locality today (in this Chapter — the second publication); if the name of the locality as aforesaid is not known to the company but the name of the locality in which the Holocaust victim acquired his rights in the asset, or in which other acts connected with that acquisition were carried out, is known to it, the company shall publish those details.
(d)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c), the company may publish the information referred to in that subsection already in the first publication, if it has in its possession, in addition to the said information, other information concerning the asset that will enable the verification of the authenticity of the requests that will be submitted to it pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter.
(e)If additional assets of Holocaust victims are transferred to the company after the first publication and until the end of the special tracing process referred to in section 23, it shall publish their details pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) at a later date, and the dates for the second publication and for the submission of requests pursuant to this Chapter shall be counted from the date of the later publication.
Submission of Request to Receive an Asset§
20.
(a)During the period from the date of the first publication until the end of six months from the date of the second publication, any person claiming a right in an asset of a Holocaust victim (in this Section — the applicant) may submit a request to the company to receive the asset; in such a request the applicant shall specify the nature of his right in the asset, the source of the right and the details known to him concerning the asset and the Holocaust victim, and shall attach all relevant evidence; the facts contained in the request shall be verified by affidavit.
(b)Requests that are submitted before the date of the second publication shall include, to the extent possible, also details and evidence relating to the locality in which the Holocaust victim's last known place of residence or last known place of stay was situated; the inclusion of such details in the request, before their publication by the company, shall be given weight when the request is examined.
(c)Upon the expiry of the period referred to in subsection (a), no further requests shall be accepted pursuant to this Section; however, nothing in this provision shall derogate from the right of a person to submit a request to the company to receive the asset after the said date, pursuant to the provisions of Section C.
Examination of Requests§
21.
(a)The company shall consider all requests submitted to it, and may, if it sees fit to do so, require the applicant and any other person to provide clarifications and details or to furnish additional evidence in connection with the request; the company may also summon the applicant and any other person to appear before it for the purpose of clarifying the applicant's right in the asset.
(b)For the purpose of enforcing its powers under subsection (a), the company may apply to the appeals committee with a request that it exercise its powers under section 31.
(c)The mechanisms for examining requests and the modes of supervising them shall be prescribed in the company's articles of association.
Giving a Decision§
22.
(a)The company shall decide on the rights in the asset and shall communicate its decision to the applicant within one year from the end of the period for submitting requests as referred to in section 20, or within a longer period as prescribed by the Minister, and shall notify the applicant of his right to appeal against the decision pursuant to section 28.
(b)For the purpose of deliberating on a request and giving a decision, the company may exempt an applicant from furnishing a succession order or a probate order, in accordance with provisions prescribed by the Minister.
(c)The company may, if it sees fit to do so, make the giving of its decision on the rights in the asset conditional upon the furnishing of a declaration of death; if the company has given such a decision, it shall notify the applicant of his right to submit to the appeals committee a request for a declaration of death, pursuant to the provisions of section 30.
(d)The company shall not decide on a request submitted to it and shall not transfer an asset or the value of an asset to an applicant before the end of the period for submitting requests as referred to in section 20, unless it considers it right to do so for special reasons that shall be recorded.
Conclusion of the Special Tracing Process§
23.
The special tracing process shall conclude at the end of 12 months from the last date for submitting requests as referred to in section 20(a), or, if the Minister has prescribed a longer period pursuant to section 22(a) — at the end of that period.
Exclusivity of the Special Tracing Process§
24.
If a person claiming a right in an asset of a Holocaust victim that has been transferred to the company files a claim in court concerning his rights in the asset after the date of the first publication, the court shall not hear the claim until the conclusion of the special tracing process as referred to in section 23, unless it considers it right to do so for special reasons that shall be recorded.
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