Latvia passes long-awaited Holocaust restitution law

By JARI TANNER
Associated Press

HELSINKI (AP) — Latvia’s parliament has passed a Holocaust restitution bill that includes funding to revitalize the Baltic nation’s Jewish community, which was almost completely wiped out during World War II. Lawmakers voted 64-21 on Thursday to approve a law that also provides compensation for property that belonged to Lativan Jews before the war. The legislation’s passage followed negotiations that started in 2005. The bill authorizes spending 40 million euros ($45 million) over 10 years to revitalize Latvia’s 9,500-strong Jewish community, provide social and material assistance to Holocaust survivors, and to fund Jewish schools, building restoration and cultural projects. The Soviet Red Army occupied Latvia in 1940 and was out by Nazi Germany’s advancing troops a year later.