Only 20 Jewish wholesalers have had their liquor licences returned to them while hundreds of small Jewish retailers and bar keepers have been ruined since Feb. 15, it was disclosed today in a survey prompted by reports published abroad that the Rumanian Government has adopted a more lenient policy toward Jews.
The aspect of Dudesti and Vacaresti streets, main thoroughfares in the Bucharest Jewish quarter, has completely changed, with shutters of almost all Jewish taverns closed, while Jewish cafe owners have been allowed to continue to sell liquor for only one month more. Hundreds of Jewish waiters have lost their jobs and are without hope of re-employment. Their number will be considerably increased on March 15, when the Jewish cafes, no longer permitted to sell liquor after that date, will be forced to close down.
Withdrawal of liquor licenses from Jews is being accomplished under the citizenship revision decree, which provides that persons deprived of their citizenship may not engage in trade. However, although illegal, similar action is being taken against Jews who have remained recognized citizens.
Meanwhile, conversions, previously almost unknown among Rumanian Jews, are assuming a mass character. Three hundred Jews, mostly bankers, wealthy merchants and professionals, have been baptized in Bucharest alone since the first of the year.
The Minister of Education has ordered Jewish public school teachers who have been deprived of their citizenship to be replaced by Rumanians. The dismissed teachers are forbidden to engage in any teaching whatever.
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.
