ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the World Jewish Congress's actions during the dormant accounts and Nazi Gold crises. The official claim of the World Jewish Congress to represent all Jewish communities and organizations throughout the world is far from a reality. Apart from conflict between the Jewish organizations themselves, there were also a number of incidents reflecting differences of interests between them and the Israeli government. The policy of the World Jewish Congress followed during the crisis can be described as pure activism. Its behavior was punctuated with a series of media-grabbing declarations, sizzling accusations and angry threats against Switzerland. The World Jewish Congress had a three-pronged strategy: concentrate on the weak link; claim the highest amount possible; and practice "double outflanking". The lack of criticism of the other countries compounded the impression that Switzerland was being singled out. Flagrant double standards were thus consistently applied, both by the World Jewish Congress and the other Jewish organizations, especially the Jewish Agency.
