(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The President of the Republic of Greece, General Pangalos, has agreed to concede the demand of the Jewish population of Salonica for facilities under the Compulsory Sunday Observance Law. The Jews of Salonica will now be allowed to keep their shops and workshops open on Sunday for three hours. The President, in making this announcement, added an expression of regard and good will for the Jews of Greece.
The Compulsory Sunday Closing Law was enacted by the National Assembly in July 1924, in complete disregard of the protests of the Greek Jews and of the Jewish organizations abroad, notably the Joint Foreign Committee, which thereupon took the question to the League of Nations.
The Jews of Salonica number about 80,000 and for nearly four centuries formed the majority of the local population making the city chiefly by their industry and enterprise, one of the most flourishing centers of trade in South Eastern Europe. Throughout this time there was no question of Sabbath observance, each community being free to observe its own day of rest and to work on the other six days of the week. The Jewish Sabbath was always observed as a religions and social institution and the trade of the city was largely suspended on Saturday.
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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.
