Less than ten per cent of the 75,00 Jews who lived in Yugoslavia before the war are now alive, the correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency was told today by leaders of the Jewish community of Belgrade upon his arrival here from Rome.
The Jewish leaders estimated that there are at present no more than 7,000 Jews in all of Yugoslavia. They cautiously added that it is impossible to know the exact number of survivors, since it is assumed that some of them may still be scattered throughout Eastern Europe.
Some of the surviving Jews in Yugoslavia hope to emigrate to Palestine, but in the absence of transportation facilities and the preoccupation with ridding the country of the Germans, the issue is not being raised. Most Jews here, however, wish to remain in Yugoslavia and participats in the upbuilding of the country.
The surviving Jews have been guaranteed the same rights as all citizens of Yugoslavia under a decree of the National Liberation Committee although the problem of property restoration is still being worked out. Jews are again in government positions and a Jew, Moshe Piade, is vice-president of the Provisional Parliament.
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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.
