Governor Newsom Signs Legislation to Help Holocaust Survivors Recover Stolen Property

LOS ANGELES, CA — Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2867 by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), which will empower California residents to recover art and other personal property stolen during the Holocaust or other acts of genocide or persecution. 

Authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, who Chairs the California 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.

“Governor Newsom’s signature on this bill is a victory for morality and justice and will ensure that California continues to stand on the right side of history,” said Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D - Encino). “AB 2867 will empower Holocaust survivors and other victims of persecution to reclaim stolen property and will send a clear message to those who refuse to return stolen art. I applaud Governor Newsom for his long standing leadership in standing up for Holocaust survivors and thank him for his partnership on this important new law.”

“For survivors of the Holocaust and their families, the fight to take back ownership of art and other personal items stolen by the Nazis continues to traumatize those who have already gone through the unimaginable. It is both a moral and legal imperative that these valuable and sentimental pieces be returned to their rightful owners, and I am proud to strengthen California’s laws to help secure justice for families,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. 

AB 2867 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 those 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 absent the new law.

Governor Newsom signed AB 2867 into law at a private ceremony at Holocaust Museum Los Angeles, where he was joined by Assemblymember Gabriel, as well as the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, including David Cassirer, the only surviving member of the Cassirer family. The law sends a clear message — including to the government of Spain — that museums have no right to maintain possession of stolen art.

“My father, Claude Cassirer, never stopped thinking or talking about what happened to his illustrious Cassirer family and, on a larger scale, the Jews of Europe,” said David Cassirer, the only surviving member of the Cassirer family. “As a Holocaust survivor, the proudest day of my father’s life was in 1947, when he first became a U.S. citizen. He would have been terribly disappointed in the recent ruling by the American courts, allowing Spain, through its national museum, to keep the Pissarro painting stolen by the Nazis from his beloved grandmother, Lilly. But he would be so happy, and grateful, that Governor Newsom and the California Legislature are taking the necessary steps to apply California’s laws ensuring the return of looted art to its rightful owners.”

"I am proud to sponsor AB 2867, a bill that empowers California families to retrieve stolen and looted property that is rightfully theirs. 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, a sponsor of AB 2867. "The decades-long effort to return confiscated property to Jewish families is morally courageous. Thank you, Governor Newsom, for your signature and Assemblymember Gabriel for your leadership on this issue.”

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