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?iont Distribution Committee Representative Reports on Conditions of Jews in Italy

April 14, 1948
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A report on the overall situation of Italian and displaced Jews now living in Italy Was presented here today at a press conference by Louis Horwitz, J.D.C. director for Italy.

There are approximately 25,000 Jewish DP’s in Italy at present, Horwitz said, of whom half reside in refugee camps, while 7,500 live on training farms, 4,000 are scattered in towns and villages throughout the country and 1,000 live in J.D.C. camps.

The 30,000 Italian Jews, Horwitz declared, are completely assimilated and are not in any way treated differently from other sections of the population. All Jewish community property confiscated by the fascist regime has been returned to its rightful owners while a law transferring heirless Jewish property to the Jewish community was recently passed, he said.

Although the International Refugee Organization is supposed to supply all refugees in Italy with food supplies containing 2,000 calories per day, Horwitz asserted that the J.D.C. was compelled to provide the Jewish DP’s with additional food since in many Instances the I.R.O. was unable to distribute sufficient supplies to all the DP’s Pregnant women, heavy workers and others in special classifications receive additional food packages from the J.D.C., Horwitz reported.

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