Serbia vows to return seized property of Holocaust victims to Jews

PanARMENIAN.Net - Serbia has passed a law offering some belated redress to its now tiny Jewish community, AFP reports.

One of the first of its kind in eastern Europe, the "heirless property restitution law" will see thousands of previously Jewish-owned buildings handed to the country's Association of Jewish Communities.

The association plans to rent out most of the properties, and from 2017 Serbia will also pay an annual 950,000 euros ($1.1 million) for 25 years in financial support to the community.

The funds will be spent on education, fighting prejudice and preserving the memory of Holocaust victims, along with supporting survivors, said its president, Ruben Fuks, AFP says.

Presenting the new law in parliament, Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic said Serbia had a "moral obligation" towards Jews who "dedicated their lives and work to our Serbia."

He said the move would also "contribute to a greater understanding of human rights, which is crucial for fighting and preventing racial and religious discrimination."

Poland, which had Europe's largest pre-war Jewish community, in 2011 suspended work on compensation legislation for property seized by Nazis and post-war Polish communists, intended to apply to both Jewish and non-Jewish victims of expropriation.

Warsaw argued the law would swell the nation's debt to the point where it would breach a European Union (EU) debt ceiling.