Poland passes law that would cut off property claims

Poland’s parliament has passed a law that would prevent former Polish property owners, among them Holocaust survivors and their descendants, from regaining property expropriated by the country’s communist regime

WARSAW, Poland -- Poland's parliament passed a law on Wednesday that would prevent former Polish property owners, including Holocaust survivors and their descendants, from regaining property expropriated by the country's communist regime. Israel condemned the legislation, with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid saying it “damages both the memory of the Holocaust and the rights of its victims.” Meanwhile, Gideon Taylor, the chair of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, or WJRO, an advocate for property restitution, said the group was “outraged,” and and called the bill “equally unfair for both Jews and non-Jews." The adopted amendment to Poland's administrative law would prevent property ownership and other administrative decisions from being declared void after 30 years. It affects Jewish and non-Jewish owners who had properties seized in the communist era.