California Passes Legislation to Help Holocaust Survivors Recover Stolen Property

SACRAMENTO, CA — Today, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill (AB) 2867, which aims to help California residents recover art and other personal property stolen during the Holocaust or other acts of genocide or persecution. 

Authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, who serves as Co-Chair of the Legislative Jewish Caucus and previously represented Holocaust survivors as an attorney in private practice, AB 2867 follows a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that has allowed a Spanish museum to retain possession of a famous Impressionist masterpiece stolen by the Nazis. In that case, the Ninth Circuit’s decision to apply Spanish law rather than California law resulted in a deep injustice, with the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board noting that it is "outrageous" and “shameful” for the Spanish museum to keep a painting that “[t]he whole world knows . . . was looted by the Nazis.” AB 2867 would address this injustice by mandating that California law must apply in lawsuits involving the theft of art or other personal property looted during the Holocaust or other acts of persecution.

"AB 2867 will ensure that Holocaust survivors and other victims of persecution can secure justice through our legal system and recover property that rightfully belongs to them and their families,” said Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D - Encino). “Our effort will make it crystal clear that California law must triumph over foreign law, that California stands with Holocaust survivors, and that cases must be decided based on truth, justice, and morality, not the misapplication of legal technicalities. ”

"My time spent in Budapest as US Ambassador, where nearly half a million Jews were mercilessly killed and their property stolen, was a lesson in Holocaust history," said California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis. "The decades-long effort to return confiscated property to Jewish families is morally courageous. I am proud to sponsor Assemblymember Gabriel’s bill and thank him for his leadership in empowering California families to retrieve stolen and looted property that is rightfully theirs.”

The bill builds on prior California law which has always aimed to assist California residents in recovering stolen property, including property stolen during the Holocaust. Attorney General Rob Bonta and former Attorney General Kamala Harris both argued that California law should apply to cases like that involving the Cassirer family, who were forced to surrender a famous impressionist masterpiece by Camille Pissarro to the Nazis at the beginning of World War II. Despite such arguments, the Ninth Circuit recently found that Spanish law should apply in their case, effectively allowing a Spanish museum to retain ownership of the stolen painting.

AB 2867 now heads to Governor Newsom’s desk, where it must be signed into law or vetoed within 12 days.

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Jesse Gabriel proudly represents the San Fernando Valley in the California State Legislature.