J. David Kleinlerer, a resident of Italy for 15 years during 14 of which he was Rome correspondent of the Jewish telegraphic Agency, was today ordered to leave the country within eight days. The order, served by the Ministry of Press and Propaganda, ascribes no specific reason for the action other than the correspondent’s “general attitude.”
Although Dr. Kleinlerer is a Polish citizen, the United States Embassy has been informed of the case since the Jewish telegraphic agency is an American-owned and registered corporation.
Dr. Kleinlerer was decorated in 1937 by King Vittorio Emanuele III with the order Cavalier Ufficiale of the Italian Crown, for services to Italy. He received the official royal certificate of the award only four months ago. together with other foreign correspondents, he had been invited to attend a dinner in honor of the governor of Rome, but at the last minute the invitation was withdrawn.
The correspondent was a well-known contributor to Italian legal publications. In 1934 he was given an audience by pope Plus XI, who asked him for detailed information about the organization and work of the Jewish telegraphic Agency.
The action was not the first taken by the Italian authorities against the J.T.A. Last November postal authorities notified the Paris office of the agency that the J.T.A. news bulletin would no longer be admitted into Italy. No reason for the action was given.
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.
