The World Jewish Congress (WJC) mourns the passing of Rolf Bloch, the long-time head of the Swiss Jewish Community Federation (SIG). Bloch died on Wednesday at the age of 84. WJC President Ronald Lauder called him “the towering figure of Swiss Jewry in the past decades and a universally respected leader who will be sorely missed.”
The businessman from Bern, who was at the helm of the family’s chocolate business Camille Bloch since 1954, served as SIG president from 1992 to 2000.
During that time, he was closely involved in the WJC-led negotiations with the Swiss banks and the Swiss authorities which led to the establishment of a $1.2 billion compensation fund for Holocaust victims in 1998. Bloch chaired another fund set up by the Swiss Confederation which disbursed 300 million Swiss francs to Holocaust survivors in need.
Ronald Lauder declared: “Rolf Bloch was always a voice of reason. He was a thoughtful and witty man who was loath to grandstanding and who knew how to make things happen in his native Switzerland of which he was a proud citizen. Rolf Bloch was a fine man who always strove for fairness. May his memory be a blessing.”
