The Paris Jewish consistory, communal organization, today made public its report on the Constantine massacre, which established definitely that the pogrom was premeditated and well-organized, and accused city authorities of leniency toward the rioters
The report also denied most emphatically that a Jewish soldier had profaned a Moslem mosque, which was cited as causing the riot. Early stories from Constantine, which French authorities have been accused of holding up for three days, declared that a drunken Jewish soldier, Elie Califa, serving in a French Zouave regiment, had entered a local mosque while drunk and insulted the Moslem worshippers. Later the entire story was denied.
English and French newspapers ridiculed the report pointing out that the pogrom had been too well planned and bore all the marks of a carefully arranged program of action.
Populaire, leading French Socialist daily, openly accused the French administration of Algiers of being directly responsible.
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.