ADL closely monitors global events, publicly identifying trouble spots, and bringing the full extent of its resources to ensure security for the Jewish community worldwide.

SWITZERLAND

The role of Swiss banks in processing Nazi gold during World War II and in thwarting the efforts of many Jews after 1945 to obtain assets deposited by relatives who were Holocaust victims was much in the news in 1997. Early in the year, an ADL delegation met in Switzerland with high-ranking government and banking officials and members of the Jewish community to discuss the subject. The League representatives expressed their hopes to the Swiss leaders that their nation would take vigorous and effective steps to address the relevant issues fairly and expeditiously. The delegation also established a Defense and Support Fund for Christopher Meili, the security guard at the Union Bank of Switzerland who prevented employees at his bank from illegally destroying bank documents from the Nazi era. For his efforts, Mr. Meili was fired by his employer and threatened with criminal prosecution.

Switzerland, its role during the Holocaust, and Nazi gold were the focus of the League's Annual National Executive Committee (NEC) in Palm Beach in February. Paul Volcker, head of the commission examining dormant Swiss bank accounts of the Holocaust and postwar years, and Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-NY), the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee who is involved in efforts to persuade Swiss banks to be more candid and cooperative about those dormant accounts, both gave updates to the ADL leaders.

TURKEY

A delegation of ADL leaders traveled to Turkey to stress the strategic importance of Turkey's presence in the Middle East and to praise the country's strong relations with Israel. The delegation also raised questions relating to human rights and freedom of the press.

The ADL delegates met with government and military officials, members of Parliament, the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors, and leaders of the Jewish community. Represen-tatives of the government deplored anti-Semitic statements that had appeared in the Turkish press, and members of the military assured the League's delegation that the Israeli-Turkish relationship was solid and wide-ranging.

When Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz journeyed to New York later in the year, ADL presented him with its Distinguished Statesman Award, in recognition of his efforts to promote democracy, religious tolerance and pluralism.

BELARUS, LITHUANIA, LATVIA

In August, a mission of ADL leaders from across the country called on government leaders in Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia, urging them to speak out vigorously against anti- Semitism, to educate their citizens about the Holocaust and the prosecution of Nazi war criminals, and to encourage restitution of Jewish communal property seized during the last 50 years.

They made chilling pilgrimages to such historic sites as the ghettos of Minsk, Vilnius and Riga, and the killing fields where the Nazis murdered thousands of Jews. There the ADL mission recited Kaddish.

OPENING IN VIENNA

To strengthen Jewish communities as they reemerge in the face of increased anti-Semitism in Central and Eastern Europe, ADL opened an office in Vienna in 1997, sponsored by the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation. ADL Vienna will work closely with government officials and Jewish leaders on community programs, research reports, media monitoring, security training, victim advocacy, and the growing threat of hate on the Internet, among other issues.

RESOURCES

Letter from Europe. International Affairs Division's periodic update on developments affecting Jewish communities and interests.

Anti-Semitism Worldwide 1996/97. Annual survey of anti-Semitic events and trends around the world.

Jean-Marie Le Pen: A Right-Wing Extremist and His Party. Examination of the rise and impact of Le Pen and his Front National Party in France.