New York, NY, January 2, 1997...The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) termed comments by the outgoing President of Switzerland, Jean-Pascal Delamuraz "shameful" and "insulting" and called on the incoming president and the cabinet to make the expeditious resolution of the matter of Swiss bank accounts of Jews who perished in the Holocaust a "government priority." In a newspaper interview President Delamuraz called demands by Jewish groups for a Swiss compensation fund for those who are entitled to money left in those bank accounts "nothing less than extortion and blackmail."

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

The comments of outgoing Swiss President Jean-Pascal Delamuraz are shameful and an insult to those Swiss, American and Israeli government representatives and institutions working to resolve this matter in a fair and just manner. We call on incoming president Arnold Koller and the Swiss cabinet to declare the investigation and resolution of this tragic affair a government priority and to recognize the moral and historical imperative of these claims.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.