J. D. B. News Letter

Jewish immigration to Belgium which has lately assumed the proportions of a mass movement, is commanding the attention of Jewish circles in the country. Anxiety is expressed not over the influx of the immigrants, but rather over the fact that they are concentrating only in the two largest cities of Belgium-Brussels and Antwerp.

The Antwerp Charity Federation is besieged daily for aid by those who are unable to secure means of livelihood. This wholesale concentration in the cities is particularly regretted since the Jews who have settled in the provinces, particularly in the mining and industrial districts, prosper. Many of them have been able to bring in their families; all of them earn a living either as laborers or traders.

Peddling has recently developed into an excellent field for Jewish profit. A Jewish Peddlers’ Federation has been formed. In the city of Charleret, in the coal district, a new type of laborer-trader has developed. This name applies to the man who works all week either in the mines or the factory and on Sunday undertakes the role of a market peddler.

For the last several years Jewish immigrants have endeavored to settle in the province of Limbourg in the East Belgium coal region. Among the foreign workers, there are some Jews. But what advantages they receive are more than offset by the persecutions they must withstand at the hands of their fellow workers. A case in point occurred recently. A group of Hungarian workers, coming under the influence of “The Awakening Magyars” complained to the authorities that the only Jew among them was a Bolshevik with the result that he was sent out of the country. The Jew involved denied any connection with the Bolsheviks and asserted that he is the victim of anti-Semitism on the part of his former townsmen.

Belgium needs workers, not only in its underground industries. It needs workers for the expansion of the port of Antwerp, the construction of a series of canals, for the preparations for the World Exposition in 1930. The Jewish immigration, however, does not follow through organized channels. As a result the Belgian Government has named a Commission to formulate an Immigration Ordinance. The Commission consists of the Director of Public Safety, the Foreign Minister and the Governor of the province of Antwerp.

At the annual meeting of the local Emigration Organization, “Ezra,” the president, M. Tolkovsky announced that an investigation of the possibilities of Jewish immigration to the Belgian Congo had been made. The results were, however, negative, on account of the climate to which it is felt the Jewish immigrants would be unable to ac- (Continued on Page 4)

Life for the Jewish students in Belgium is hard. More than 50% of the students have not the wherewithal to support themselves during their school course. There are no institutions for the assistance of Jewish students, and there are no opportunities to secure part time work in the cities where there are no Jews. A large number of Jewish students are forced to work in the coal mines or in the factories at night and attend courses at the University during the day. Some work for several months in the year, in order to earn enough money to study for the rest of the year. In this manner the Jewish student struggles along until he completes his course, only to begin a new struggle in his chosen profession.

The situation for the student is best in Antwerp. Aside from the fact that there the Jewish student has the possibility of getting some part time work as a teacher or a clerk, there is also the probability of securing assistance from the student unions. The situation is about the same in Brussels. The Jewish students, are, however, principally concentrated in the cities of Ghent and Liege, in each of which there are about 700 students from East Europe and fifty from Palestine.

A conference of Jewish students was held in Brussels for the purpose of reorganizing the Federation of Jewish Students. Delegates from six universities participated. Interparty clashes caused a split at the very outset. The Bundists and the Communists refused to permit admission to the Federation Unions concerned with safeguarding the cultural and national interests of the Jewish students. When the majority vote decided not to strike out the word “national,” they walked out of the conference.

The Jewish community of Antwerp recently celebrated its centenary. The occasion was duly observed in all the synagogues of the city.

Recently the King of Belgium bestowed the title of Baron on the banker Casal, an honor infrequently bestowed and then only upon distinguished personalities. This honor following upon the heels of Casal’s entry into the Pro-Palestine Committee is said to be an indication of the Belgian Government’s sympathy with the Zionist cause. Baron Casal is the second Jew to receive that title in Belgium. Baron Lamport was the first to be thus honored.