Uncategorized
Credit Suisse is limiting probe into Nazi bank accounts, US lawmakers say
(JTA) — The U.S. Senate Budget Committee has accused Credit Suisse of impeding an investigation into former accounts at the bank held by Nazis, including many who fled to South American countries after World War II.
On Tuesday, the committee released two reports, one by an independent ombudsman the bank had hired to oversee the investigation and one by a forensic research team. The bank fired the ombudsman, American lawyer Neil Barofsky, in November, months into his investigation.
“Credit Suisse’s decision to stop its review midstream has left many questions unanswered, including questions about the thoroughness of its prior investigative efforts, the extent to which it served Nazi interests and the bank’s role in servicing Nazis fleeing justice after the war,” Barofsky wrote in his findings, according to reports.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Senate committee’s ranking Republican, added in a statement on Tuesday: “When it comes to investigating Nazi matters, righteous justice demands that we must leave no stone unturned. Credit Suisse has thus far failed to meet that standard.”
Jewish organizations have long claimed that in addition to playing a key role in financially supporting Nazi Germany, Credit Suisse has held onto money looted from Jews long after the war. In 1999, the Swiss bank paid Jewish groups and Holocaust survivors a settlement of $1.25 billion in restitution for withholding money from Jews who tried to withdraw their funds.
In 2020, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an antisemitism watchdog named after a famed Nazi hunter, reported that an Argentine investigator had found evidence that thousands of Nazis who fled to Argentina had kept accounts at Credit Suisse for decades, some with looted funds. The bank then opened an internal investigation.
Earlier this year, Grassley said that he had “received credible allegations of potential wrongdoing related to Credit Suisse’s internal investigation, including specifically the questionable removal of Mr. Barofsky in late 2022.”
“[T]he information we’ve obtained shows the bank established an unnecessarily rigid and narrow scope, and refused to follow new leads uncovered during the course of the review,” Grassley said in a statement.
According to the Associated Press, the forensic firm AlixPartners’ report showed that 21 Credit Suisse accounts had connections to Nazis, including multiple SS officers, on the Wiesenthal Center 2020 list. The New York Times reported that Barofsky, who was hired by the bank in February, had not found any accounts definitively linked to Nazis that were still open at the time of his firing, but he wrote that he was in November still looking into accounts not included in the 1990s report that he believed could have held Nazi money.
The bank said in a statement that the new reports confirm “existing research on Credit Suisse’s history published in the context of the 1999 Global Settlement that provided binding closure for the Swiss banks regarding all issues relating to World War II.”
The probe will continue in some form, as the Senate committee noted that the bank “committed to further investigate its apparent role in supporting Nazis fleeing from justice after WWII.”
Thousands of Nazis fled Europe to havens in Latin America after the war, most notably to countries such as Argentina and Brazil but also to others such as Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru.
Switzerland had long claimed full neutrality during World War II, but the 1990s investigations into banks and other wartime financial dealings with Nazi Germany shattered that reputation. The country’s financial system, it was revealed, had laundered gold and other stolen goods through the war and resisted pushes in its immediate aftermath to pay restitution to Jewish victims of the Nazis.
—
The post Credit Suisse is limiting probe into Nazi bank accounts, US lawmakers say appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Defense Minister Moves to Shut Down Israel’s Historic Army Radio Station
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz looks on, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said he plans to bring a proposal to the government on Sunday to close Galei Tzahal, the Israel Defense Forces’ radio station, ending a broadcast operation that has been on the air for more than seven decades.
If approved, the shutdown would take effect on March 1, 2026.
The announcement has triggered sharp backlash from journalists, legal experts, and civil society groups, who warn the move could have far-reaching implications for press freedom. Tal Lev-Ram, the station’s commander, has already signaled that Galei Tzahal’s leadership intends to challenge the decision in the High Court of Justice. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara also voiced concern, cautioning that the plan could amount to political intervention in public media and pose risks to freedom of expression.
Criticism has also come from the Israeli Press Council, headed by former Supreme Court justice Hanan Melcer, which labeled the proposed closure unlawful.
The council argued that dismantling a public broadcaster requires explicit legislation passed by the Knesset, not a government decision alone. Advocacy organizations, including the Movement for Quality Government, said they are preparing legal petitions as well.
Katz defended the initiative by citing the findings of a professional review committee, which concluded that a military-run radio station broadcasting political and current affairs programming to the general public represents a “democratic anomaly.”
He argued that Galei Tzahal has moved beyond its original mandate of serving soldiers and their families.
The committee examined a range of alternatives, such as converting the station into a music-only outlet or partially privatizing its operations.
Ultimately, it recommended either closing the station altogether or significantly scaling it back by removing political content. Katz noted that Galgalatz, the popular music station operated by the army, would continue broadcasting under the proposed plan.
Uncategorized
Trilateral Summit: Israel, Greece, Cyprus to Discuss Regional Security
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem on Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Jerusalem will host a trilateral summit tomorrow, bringing together leaders from Israel, Greece, and Cyprus to discuss strengthening security cooperation in the eastern Mediterranean.
The summit follows reports by Amichai Stein of i24NEWS last week that the three countries are considering the formation of a joint rapid-response military unit.
The Israeli Prime Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with each of his counterparts before convening the full trilateral session, which will conclude with a joint press statement outlining the summit’s outcomes.
Media reports indicate that the initiative is driven in part by concerns in Athens over Turkey’s growing military activity in the region. The proposed rapid-response force is expected to enhance coordination, readiness, and overall security among the three allies.
Analysts say the meeting could solidify Israel, Greece, and Cyprus’s strategic partnership and signal a more unified approach to regional defense challenges.
Uncategorized
Justice Department Restores Trump Photo to Public Database of Epstein Files
An exterior image from the U.S. Virgin Islands property on Little St. James once owned by Jeffrey Epstein. via U.S. Justice Department
A photo of US President Donald Trump that had been removed from the cache of Jeffrey Epstein files released by the Department of Justice was restored on Sunday after officials determined none of Epstein’s victims were in the image, the department said.
The photo showing a desk with an open drawer containing a photo of Trump with various women was flagged by the Southern District of New York for review to protect potential victims.
“After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction,” the Justice Department said on X on Sunday.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier on Sunday his office removed the photo because of concerns about women in the photo. “It has nothing to do with President Trump,” Blanche said during a Sunday morning appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.”
The Justice Department released thousands of documents on Friday related to Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who committed suicide in 2019. But it has drawn criticism, including from some Republicans, over extensive redactions and few documents mentioning Trump despite his well-publicized friendship with Epstein.
During an ABC News interview on Sunday, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called for a “full and complete investigation as to why the document production has fallen short of what the law clearly required.”
Up to 16 photos, including the desk drawer Trump image, were removed on Saturday from the Justice Department website, according to The New York Times, NPR and the Associated Press, although Reuters could not independently confirm the removals.
The Justice Department said on Sunday it acted with an abundance of caution after receiving requests from alleged victims and their lawyers to remove information.
Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing and has denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes.