“The Simon Wiesenthal Center commends Representative Steve Israel (D-NY) and Representative Harold Berman (D-CA) for introducing theWar Crimes Accountability Act of 2012,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, 
a leading Jewish human rights NGO named in honor of the famed Nazi hunter. “This legislation can serve as an important tool in the pursuit ofjustice and a reminder in the final years of the hunt for Nazi war criminals that there should be no statute of limitations on mass murder and no safe harbor for Nazi killers,” hecontinued.
“We note that the bill mentions the Center's Operation Last Chance and the important work by our chief Nazi hunter, EfraimZuroff,” Cooper said. “Significantly, this bill provides practical incentive for countries who have done nothing to deal with Nazi war criminals in their midst to cooperate inbringing Nazis before the bar of justice by prohibiting defense sales to countries that either refuse to deport, prosecute, or enforce an arrest warrant against a Nazi war criminal,”Cooper said. He also said that it would also cover war criminals accused by an international tribunal of planning or abetting crimes against humanity in the years since the end of World WarII.
Cooper added, “This bill shows that America is telling the world that the heinous crimes perpetrated by Nazi Germany will not beforgotten, nor will similar acts today be tolerated.”
"We are grateful to Congressmen Israel and Berman for their service to the victims of the Shoah and to all victims of atrocities whowould benefit from this legislation," Rabbi Cooper concluded.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in theUnited States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).
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