Full Religious, Cultural, Civic Rights Guaranteed to Jews in Algeria

Algeria’s 150,000 Jews have been guaranteed full religious, cultural and civic rights in the agreement for a cease-fire reached between France and the FLN, the Moslem movement for Algerian independence, according to the text of the pact released here today.

The Jews of Algeria, until now thoroughly integrated among the 1,000,000 Europeans in Algeria, will enjoy specific individual and communal rights, according to the agreement signed last night at Evian. As an integral part of the European minority in Algeria, the country’s Jews have been guaranteed by both sides the following rights:

1. Jews will be able to retain their French nationality. They will enjoy a three-year transitional period, during which they will be able to choose Algerian nationality, which will be granted automatically, if that is their preference. Should they refuse to become Algerian citizens, they will nonetheless have the right to continue to live in Algeria, enjoying rights equal to those granted to Algerian citizens.

2. During the three-year period, Jews will have specific guarantees, such as privileged municipal status in the cities of Algiers and Oran. They will also have judicial representation on courts and juries before which they may appear.

3. Jews have been guaranteed religious and cultural freedom. They will have the right to administer their own specific institutions which will enjoy limited autonomy.

FRENCHMAN OF JEWISH FAITH TO BE ON BODY ADMINISTERING ALGERIA

A Frenchman “of the Jewish faith” will sit on the 13-man executive which will administer Algeria during the transition period leading to a referendum on the future of Algeria’s status.

French authorities, it is understood, offered, during the talks leading to the Franco-Algerian agreement, to reserve one seat on the executive for a representative of the Algerian Jewish Community. However, this plan has been rejected by the Algerian Jews. They did not want to emphasize the possible separation of the Jews from the rest of the European population. The Frenchman “of Jewish faith” on the executive body will thus not be specifically a representative of Algerian Jewry.

Here, in the French capital, it is expected that the French Government will now reestablish diplomatic relations with the Arab states. Those relations were broken in 1956, after France’s participation with Britain in the action against the Suez Canal. First among the Arab states with which France is expected to re-establish diplomatic relations is Syria. It is believed that those relations will be established first on the charge d’affaires level, to be followed, perhaps in two weeks, by full exchanges of diplomatic personnel between the two countries.

IMPROVEMENT IN FRENCH-ARAB RELATIONS WILL NOT AFFECT ISRAEL

Political circles here indicated today that the Foreign Ministry hopes gradually to improve its relations with other Arab states. While the Suez action had caused the breach in Franco-Arab relations, it has been the impasse in Algeria that has been the chief stumbling block to resumption of normal diplomatic relations between Paris and the Arab capitals.

Diplomatic circles here, however, envisage no change whatever in the present, warm relations between France and Israel. No alteration in those close relations have been evidenced here in the last few days, since it became evident that the Evian talks would succeed, resulting in consequent closer relations between France and the Arab states.

Israeli diplomats here stress their belief that they see no difficulties ahead in Franco-Israeli relations. They point out that, when Britain resumed diplomatic relations with the United Arab Republic, that development did not at all affect the relations between Britain and Israel.