AVRAHAM BURG AND Israel Singer are old friends. Both families come
from Vienna, and they have known each other well since the beginning of
the 1980s. Despite their differences in character and style, they have a few
things in common that have helped them greatly in the campaign for Jewish
property, namely, aggressiveness, sharp tongues, and a willingness to con-
front others. Burg and Singer understand each other's every gesture, and
do not need to consult much with each other. This was true in a conver-
sation between the two after the third--(and, in retrospect, last)--meeting
of the Jewish organizations and Swiss banks' joint committee, on December
18, 1995. Singer laconically reported to Burg, "It's not working." Burg
received a similar report from Zvi Barak. ¹ Singer and Burg began to plan
altogether different measures.

When it became clear to them that the negotiations were not serious,
they changed their strategy completely. No more aggressive public decla-
rations while negotiating secretly in good faith, but an open, all-out battle.
Singer began planning for the possibility of the collapse of the negotiations
with the Swiss, and prepared what he calls the "shelters." The strategy was
to move the campaign battle to the United States, an arena Burg left to
Singer, who acted with Bronfman's backing. In just one month, between
the end of December 1995 and the end of January 1996, their weapon was
ready, and just in time, too, since just one week later ( February 1996), the
Jewish organizations' trust in the Swiss banks came crashing down. ²

The threat to the Swiss banks from the United States was very significant,
both financially and in terms of their image. In 1996, thirteen branches of
six Swiss banks operated in the United States, led by the three major banks,
Credit Suisse, UBS, and Swiss Bank Corp. In 1994, Swiss banks loaned
American businesses $38 billion. The banks employed 6,000 people and
paid federal, state, and municipal taxes in the amount of $100 million. In
addition, the Swiss banks managed hundreds of billions of dollars in in-
vestments in American stocks and banks for their clients. ³

As some of those involved in the affair have said, a banker has no more
important asset than his reputation. If serious claims against the banks are

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