Netherlands Chief Rabbi J. Tal today appealed to the Ministry of Justice to take action immediately to “remedy the appalling situation regarding the guardianship for war orphans which is leading in many cases to the estrangement of Jewish children from their parental faith and baptism.”
Rabbi Tal’s message pointed out that the “legal principle of procuring guardianship for each child in accordance with the religion of the parents is being increasingly ignored by the War Orphans Commission in the case of Jewish children.” The appeal added that the “situation calls for the repeal of present legislation which permits totally incompetent persons to decide the fate of children.”
The Netherlands Chief Rabbi urged the formation of a new commission on which Jews would be represented. The wire to the Justice Ministry also made a special request that “utmost efforts be made to find the kidnapped Jewish girls, Betty Melhado and Adele Beekman.”
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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.
