The agitation started in Lemberg when charges of profanation on the part of some unidentified Jewish girls during the Corpus Christi procession on June 2 were spread, leading to anti-Jewish riots, still continues.
Official action was taken concerning the matter by the Federation of Rabbis in the Republic of Poland, headed by Rabbi Ezekiel Lipshitz. The rabbinical body, addressing itself to the statement issued by the Lemberg Episcopate which urged the students to desist from anti-Jewish disturbances but repeated the charge that a Catholic procession had been profaned, issued an appeal in which exception to such charges is taken and a protest against the continuation of the anti-Jewish agitation is voiced. This statement contained no reference to the action of the Sosnowiec police which advised the heads of the local synagogues and Jewish institutions to caution their congregations to keep Jewish children off the streets and to remain away from the synagogue on Saturday, July 6, on the eve of a Catholic conference and procession scheduled for Sunday, July 7.
The Rabbis Federation in its appeal declares that the ancient Jewish religious teachings and traditions instil in every Jew a respect for the beliefs of other religions professiong the unity of God. The martyrdom of the Jews, recorded in the history of the world, is an a priori denial of any similar unfounded charges which were made in times gone by. “We declare solemnly,” the statement says, “that there never existed any possibility for a deliberate profanation of the religious feelings of Christians on the part of Jewish school children.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
