The Minister of Economics today announced revocation of the Senate decree including Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, in the compulsory list of holidays to be observed by all people. A new decree was issued making the closing of shops on Yom Kippur obligatory only for Jews.
The government acted on the advice of the governor of Salonica in taking this action in order to halt the anti-Semitic agitation flood which the decree had started.
The decree, issued last month, while hailed by Jewish leaders as a sign of the friendliness toward the Jews of the Tsaldaris government, nevertheless was received with misgivings since it was feared that it would give rise to new anti-Semitic agitation. The decree was the cause of much disorder in Salonica and the Jewish community was relieved by its revocation.
The commandant of the Salonica military garrison has prohibited officers and soldiers from joining the “EEE”, a secret anti-Semitic organization which evaded suppression by the authorities by converting itself into a political party. The “EEE” is affiliated with the German Nazis and has the regular Nazi program. Two soldiers were sentenced to a month’s imprisonment for attending one of the “EEE” Nazi meetings and singing the “EEE” hymn.
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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.