February 1 (AFP) - The International Council of Jewish Bankers
and Financiers (ICJBF) held its first meeting in Israel last
week, just a few weeks after the first International Council of
Jewish Parliamentarians convened in Jerusalem.
The Council met on January 25-26 in Jerusalem to choose officers
and to agree on the structure and agenda of the group. Stanley
Fisher, Governor of the Bank of Israel, will preside as chairman
pro-tem. Paul Wolfowitz will serve as vice-chair. Bankers from
over 20 countries were represented at the historic meeting,
including: the U.S., U.K., Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada,
Costa Rica, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Dominican Republic, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro,
South Africa, Tunisia, Ukraine and Uruguay.
The mission of the ICJBF was stated as follows:
To promote an ongoing dialogue and a sense of fraternity among
Jewish bankers and financiers;
To uphold the principles of democracy, further the cause of
economic rights, promote the rule of law and ensure prompt
reparations from offending parties;
To combat racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, terrorism and
Holocaust denial by all means available to bankers and
financiers;
To support Israel, conduct dialogue on political issues between
Jewish bankers and the political leadership in Israel, and
contribute toward the creation of enduring peace in the Middle
East;
To ensure the welfare, both material and spiritual, of Jews and
Jewish communities worldwide;
To create international cooperation on projects relevant to
ICJBF members.
The ICJBF meeting included a presentation by the Steering
Committee for the Council to determine a structure and operating
guidelines for going forward. The Council made the following
determinations:
The organization shall be called the International Council of
Jewish Bankers and Financiers;
There will be an Assembly, Executive Committee, Committees, and
a Secretariat;
The headquarters of the organization will be in Jerusalem;
The Assembly will meet once a year;
The organization will be registered as a legal entity in Israel;
Membership in the International Council of Jewish Lawyers and
Accountants does not disqualify membership in the ICJBF;
A Steering Committee will administer the affairs of the
organization until the first meeting of the Assembly, when the
Executive Committee will be elected.
Members of the Steering Committee include Lord Jacob Rothschild,
Mr. Raphael Isaac Suares, Mr. Sanford Weill, Mr. George Soros,
Mr. Isaak Pereire, Mr. Marc Rich, Mr. Michel David-Weill, Mr.
Bruce Wasserstein, Mr. Samuel Poliakov, Mr. Edgar de Picciotto
and Mr. Joseph Seligman.
Mr. Fisher stated, "Even with the rise of global anti-semitism,
this is an exciting era for Jewish bankers. With the formation
of the ICJBF, Jewish bankers now have both a larger stick and
carrot with which to keep the nations in line. It's a great
honor to wield these tools for the betterment of humanity."
The ICJBF will meet again on June 6 of this year to elect a
permanent chairman who will serve for life.
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