The American Jewish Congress is apparently in settlement discussions with the court-appointed trustee in the Madoff bankruptcy case.

In court documents filed yesterday, both the American Jewish Congress and Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc., agreed to waive the December 11, 2010 deadline for the bankruptcy trustee to file suit in order to allow deals to be reached by the charities’ boards. Also yesterday, Hadassah’s board agreed to a settlement.

According to Bruce Buechler, the attorney representing AJCongress, “We are in the final stages of hopefully reaching an agreement. The reality is we have a deal in place with Picard’s people. Simply put, we just need a little more time to get our boards’ approval.”

AJCongress, which pretty much closed up back in July, had previously stated they lost $21 million of their $24 million endowment in the collapse of Madoff’s firm. One must wonder how they will actually pay any settlement arrangement.

While the next few hours are expected to be busy with court filings, perhaps there are others with whom discussions are underway that have also waived the deadline. Only time will tell.