Belgian Jewry Mournspassing of King Albert

Rtprinlei from yesterdoi’t late edition.

Belgian Jewry was profoundly shocked today by the news of the death of King Albert in a mountaineering accident near Namur, Belgium, yesterday. The popular, democratic, King of the Belgians, was loved and respected by his Jewish subjects. Me was known to be friendly towards them and manifested his interest in the Jews and in the Zionist movement on many occasions.

Last November. Queen Elizabeth, his consort, paid a visit of: state to Yiddish Theater in Brussels to witness the performance of “Kiddush Hashem”, by Sholom” Asch, which portrayed the sufferings of the Ukrainian Jews in the pogrom period of Bogdan Cbmel-nitzki. The Queen stayed through the whole performance, which was given by the WSlno troupe, and later received the director of the troupe.

The entire Belgian press hailed the event as demonstration of the sympathy Of the rating house with the Jews and saw in the visit a protest against anti-Semitism. The papers pointed out that the Queen intended to express her feelings regarding the persecution or the Jews and chose the visit as an effective means of doing this.

A month earlier, King Albert granted an audience to Dr. Chaim Weizni – a, head of the Zionist commission for the settlement of German Jews in Palestine. Jt was understood that Dr. Weizmann had discussed current happenings with the Belgian monarch and had described to him the work of upbuilding in Palestine and the future possibilities of the country, in which the King was known to be interested.

At the same time the liberal immigration policy pursued by Belgium in the period after the war, which permitted the entry of thousands of East European Jews into Belgium and led to the creation of a flourishing Belgian Jewish colony, was attributed to the friendly policy of the King.

The Belgian ruler, was very friendly With Professor and Mrs. Albert Einstein and received them several times. After being exiled from Germany, Professor Einstein spent some time in Belgium, auc a warm friendship is said to have developed between the monarch and the scientist.

King Albert, who was noted as a mountain climber, sot out on Saturday to climb Rocher de Marches les Dames, a mountain peak near Kamur. Me was accompanied by a personal servant. During the ascent, he slipped and fell. His body was not recovered until early this morning. Searchers found a deep wound in bis head and declared that there waa no doubt that the.monarch had been killed instantly.

TRIBUTE TO ALBERT

A striking tribute to the dead Belgian Kins: was paid last night by Dr. EliasTieberman, principal of the Thomas Jefferson High School during a meeting of the Women’s Division of the American Jewish Congress at the school.

“I met King Afbert in Palestine,” Dr. Ueberman, declared- “He was a lover and a great friend of the Jews. The King was enthused by the work of reconstruction in Palestine and paid a splendid tribute, to the enthusiasm of the Jewish people.”

The meeting, which, was attended by more than 350 Brooklyn Jewish women, was a mass rally and entertainment to spur the membership campaign of the group in the borough. Dr. lieberman, James Waterman Wise and Rabbi Morris M. Rose ol Sinai Temple of Brooklyn spoke. They discussed the membership campaign, the boycott of German-made goods and the world Jcwist congress.