Possibility of New Government in Roumania With Non-Anti-Semitic Policy Arouses Discussion Among Jews By Our Bucharest Correspondent
Is Roumania to have a new cabinet soon that will stop the anti-Semitic excesses and improve the situation of the Jews? This question has provoked considerable discussion in Jewish circles since reports began to go around recently in political spheres of a possible change of Government with General Averescu as Premier. The possibility of such a change and its probable effect on the position of the Jewish population was the subject of an interview here given to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent by Dr. Meyer Ebner. one of the outstanding Jewish leaders of Bukowina.
“If General Averescu forms a Government,” Dr. Ebner said, “we can expect an improvement in the position of the Jewish population of Roumania. When General Averescu was head of the Government. there was no official anti-Semitism. The Averescu Government ratified the Peace Treaty and the Minorities Treaties and gave the Jews full citizenship. At that time, in 1920-21, there were no anti-Semitic excesses in Roumania. The student movement, too, was still in its infancy. The Government under General Averescu kept a strong hand on things, and the position of the Jews was tolerable.
“We anticipate the same policy from a new Government headed by General Avereseu. But we are not fully certain that it will be so. For since General Averescu was last in power anti-Semitism has seized all classes and sections of the population, and even General Averescu’s party contains today anti-Semites of note Nevertheless, we expect, and we think we are justified in this, that General Averescu, who is no philo-Semite, but who is also no anti-Semite, will not depart from the path of duty and justice.
“We Jews in Bukowina have confidence also in ex-Minister Dr. Dori Popovitch, who will probably take the leading position in an Averescu Government next to the Prime Minister himself. Dr. Popovitch is a son of Bukowina. We know him disposed towards the Jews. Only the future, however, can show whether we shall have cause to be as satisfied with a new Averescu Government as we were with the last Averescu Government as we were with the last Averescu Government.”
Dr. Ebuer also spoke in the course of the interview of the recently formed National Federation of Bukowimian Jews. Hitherto, he said, there have been two big Jewish parties in Bukowina, the Zionists and the Jewish National People’s Party, headed by Deputy Dr. Straucher. Owing, however, to certain difficulties and disagreements there was a split in his party, One section retrained with Straucher, and the other, the bigger section, united with the Zionist party, which had after its last conference decided to keep political work and purely Zionist work separate. The unification of the Zionist party and this group has led to the establishment of the National Federation of all Jews in Bukowina.
“The work of the National Federation,” Dr. Ebner concluded, “will be to bring about a revival in Jewish political life and to strengthen Jewish political significance in regard to the relations with the Government Within the near future there will be big work to be done in the sphere of ‘realpolitik.’ and the National Federation will have to take this work upon itself It will stand on guard to protect the political, economic and cultural interests of the Jewish masses. The National Federation will also prepare the way for a unification of all Jews in Greater Roumania, for the formation of a single Jewish political organization for the whole country.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
