The Government’s virtual ban on Zionist fund collections is still in force throughout the country, it was reliably learned today, despite reports in some newspapers that it had been lifted.
Zionist leaders have been notified that the prohibition of fund collections without special permits, which to date have not been issued to anyone, is still valid and that collection efforts remain illegal.
The ban chiefly affects the provinces of Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia. In the city of Czernowitz alone, where the heaviest Jewish population in Rumania is concentrated, about 1,000,000 lei (about $10,000) is impounded in the banks.
The authorities claim that authorization for Jewish National Fund, Palestine Foundation Fund and other Zionist collections was formally withdrawn by the Rumanian Cabinet two years ago and has never been reissued.
Zionist leaders, however, contend that no such action ever was taken and point out that, on the contrary, an agreement exists between exporters and the Government National Bank which provides that a certain percentage of the entire export to Palestine may be transferred in the form of Zionist funds.
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.
