More than 80,000 Algerian Jews, out of a total population of 115,000, have left Algeria during the past six months as part of the general European migration from that country which has reached 500,000, according to a report issued here today by the American Jewish Committee. Due to this mass exodus “no organized Jewish life” exists in Algeria today, the report stated.
The report is based on information from inside Algeria and interviews with Algerian immigrants. It points out that although the present Algerian regime has promised Algerian Jews a status equal with Moslems, the Jewish community fears that it may be caught in the same plight as their co-religionists in other newly independent countries of North Africa “where substantial Jewish communities existed until a decade ago.”
While the Algerian signatories of the Evian Agreement — which set up Algerian independence — are moderates, Vice Premier Mohammed Ben Bella, who has gained the upper hand in the Algerian power struggle, has been linked with Egypt’s President Nasser and other extreme Moslem nationalists. Thus, the European community in general, and the Jewish community in particular, see the possibility that Moslem extremists, many of whom lived in Cairo during the independence struggle, will gain control, the report stated.
The Evian Agreement, the report said, promises Algeria’s Jews the same rights as other Europeans. However, some FLN leaders have long been adamant in their conviction that Algerian Jews were Algerians, “even if they consider themselves French.” Since all indications point to an indefinite period of “political and spiritual turmoil,” the report asserted that the Jewish community has no assurance that the eventual leaders of the Algerian Government will “desire to observe the promises of the Evian Agreement in good faith.”
At present, France is the goal for most Algerian Jewish immigrants. According to the report, the newcomers arrive with a minimum of personal effects “since it is impossible to leave Algeria with more than a few pieces of luggage.” The report warned that as newcomers compete for available housing and jobs “existing neo-Nazi fascist groups in France and anti-Jewish elements among the Algerian Europeans may spark anti-Semitism.”
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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.
