The Jewish daily newspapers here carry editorials today praising Gen. Giraud for abolishing the Vichy anti-Jewish laws but expressing puzzlement over his simultaneous abrogation of the Cremieux decree.
The explanation by Gen. Giraud that he is repealing the Cremieux law in order to end discrimination between Moslems and Jews in Algeria, since the former are not French citizens, is disputed by the Jewish Daily Forward, largest Jewish newspaper in the world. In order to abolish inequality between the Arabs and the Jews in Algeria, the paper points out, Gen. Giraud could have granted French citizenship to the Moslems. The editorial emphasizes that under the premiership of Leon Blum, in 1936, a bill was introduced in France to grant French citizenship to the Moslem population in Algeria. This bill was never passed.
The Day, another large Jewish newspaper, in its editorial today points out that Gen. Giraud owes the world a clear explanation as to why he abrogated the Cremieux law and thus reduced the Algerian Jews from French citizens to subjects. “It is obvious that the Jews have nothing against Giraud’s granting full French citizenship to the Moslems also,” the editorial states.
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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.
