“France knows not racial prejudices,” the radio stations in Algeria and French Morocco commented today in broadcasting the decree issued by Gen. Giraud during the week-end giving equal rights to Jewish women in North Africa in certain branches of the French civil service.
“It has been reported to me,” the decree read, “that some women and girls of the Jewish religion have been for that reason eliminated by the employment office from the nursing services, the telegraph services and the automobile services. That is a situation that is inadmissible at a time when the army has need for the help of all. The Commander-in-Chief thereby orders that any women or girl capable of serving, be engaged within the limits of the necessary needs and without any question of race or religion.”
(The New York Times today reported from Algeria that the Giraud government has issued an order declaring that there is to be no religious or racial discrimination in North Africa.)
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.
