California State Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel unveiled legislation on March 28 that helps California residents recover art and other personal property stolen during the Holocaust or other acts of genocide or persecution. Assembly Bill 2867 was introduced following a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed a Spanish museum to retain possession of a famous impressionist painting stolen by Nazis during the Holocaust. AB 2867 would address cases like these 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.

“This bill 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,” Gabriel said.

Gabriel co-chairs the Legislative Jewish Caucus and previously represented Holocaust survivors as an attorney in private practice.

AB 2867 builds on prior California law which has assisted 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 such as the case 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 the case, effectively allowing a Spanish museum to retain ownership of the stolen painting.

“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 the California legislature is taking the necessary steps to apply California’s laws ensuring the return of looted art to its rightful owners.”

AB 2867 is expected to be heard next in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. For information, visit a46.asmdc.org.