Berlin Jewish Community leader threatens to sue Claims Conference

The president of the Berlin Jewish Community, Albert Meyer, has threatened a law suit against the Jewish Claims Conference in a dispute over the return of properties to their rightful owners. Meyer argues that estates, worth around € 20 million (US$ 27 million), ought to be given to the Berlin community and not be kept by the Claims Conference. The disputed properties are located in the eastern part of Berlin, which was under Communist rule until 1990. Meyer says that "at least morally", the money from the sale of the properties belonged to the Berlin Jewish Community as it had also had to cope with a large integration of immigrants from the former Soviet Union.