37 Polish Jews Jailed As Strike Reprisal

Thirty-seven Jews were sentenced in Leds today to jail terms of one to fourteen days for having played leading roles in Tuesday’s nation-wide general strike of Polish Jewry and labor groups against the Government’s failure to stem anti-Jewish rioting throughout the country.

This is the second reprisal taken by authorities against participants in the strike. Yesterday, Czenstochew Jewish cultural groups, libraries, and sports organizations of labor parties were ordered closed indefinitely.

A conference of rabbis and Jewish leaders from all parts of Poland today decided to proclaim a seven-week meatless period as a protest against the expected passage tonight of the amended bill prohibiting Jewish ritual method of slaughtering.

The meatless period will start the first day of Passover, April 7, and continue through to the first day of Pentecost, May 27.

The conference today informed the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the bill even in its amended form is acceptable since it undermines the fundamentals of the Jewish religion. The amendments permit sufficient kosher meat for the use of Jews, Mohammedans and Karaites, but would bar Jews from selling such meat to non-Jews and prohibit kosher slaughtering entirely in districts where Jews numbered less than fifteen per cent of the population.

Close relations between Polish and German anti-Semites were revealed today when customs officials arrested a band of Polish citizens on charges of smuggling Nazi uniforms into this country.

Two Nationalists (Endeks) were under arrest today after having confessed to Grodno police that they planted the bomb which early this week wrecked the Jewish Red Cross Offices in that city. The same bomb was responsible for partially destroying a branch of the Ford Motor Company across the street.