Louis Joxe, French Minister for Algerian Affairs, and head of the French delegation here negotiating the future of Algeria with the representatives of the FLN, the Moslem rebels in Algeria, today gave outright assurance, for the first time, that the interests of Algeria’s 150, 000 Jews are to be recognized as a Jewish community inside the European minority in Algeria.
After conferring with French President Charles de Gaulle on the progress of the talks here, M. Joxe issued a statement which clearly indicates that France intends to honor the pledges it had given previously to Jewish leaders. None of the 1, 000, 000 Europeans in Algeria, M. Joxe stated, “will lose his French nationality unless he specifically renounces it.” The statement declared pointedly that France will honor her obligations to safeguard the well-being and interests of the 1,000,000 non-Moslems in Algeria.
“This conference, ” stated M. Joxe in a prepared statement, “must insure that the minorities do not feel a danger of being oppressed. Such an assurance can only be based on recognition of their rights and liberties, and on definite guarantees. It must not be left to blind trust. “
“The members of the minority community, ” the French delegation chairman continued, “must have the possibility to organize themselves–not for political reasons, but in order to form a group which will manage their own interests, within whose framework they will be able to enjoy certain guarantees in the educational field and in the application of justice before the country’s tribunals.”
Leaders of the FLN, however, declared their negotiators are not prepared to enter into such “details” prior to achievement of full Algerian independence. They expressed the view that “most members of minority groups ” will choose Algerian nationality and will integrate themselves into the new Algerian nation.
Circles close to the FLN leaders told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency “there is no Jewish problem whatever” in Algeria, stating that “most Jews in Algeria, anyway, want to acquire Algerian nationality and assimilate themselves into the nation.” In spite of this stand, however, it is believed that the statement by M. Joxe may impel the FLN to adopt a more elastic attitude.
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.
