A committee of the League of Nations was appointed to inquire into the situation of many thousands of Jews in the newly acquired provinces of Roumania with regard to their citizenship rights which is threatened by the attitude of the Roumanian Government, it was stated today in a report of the Alliance Israelite Universelle submitted at its annual meeting which was held here today.
Representatives of the Alliance Israelite Universelle have taken up this matter with the representatives of the Roumanian Government in Geneva, but they have disputed the figures submitted by the Alliance, claiming that only a small number of Jews are affected by the clause in the new Roumanian nationality law which places the burden of proof upon every applicant for Roumanian citizenship, that he resided in the newly acquired territory before 1918. It was only after the representatives of the Alliance threatened to raise the question publicly that the establishment of the Commission was consented to.
The report of the Alliance further deals with the situation of the Jews in Roumania and states that “While the Roumanian ministers denounce anti-Semitic violence in their public speeches, they do nothing to prevent it. It is difficult to believe that anti-Jewish excesses would be possible did the Government not maintain an attitude of passivity.
“The movement against the dominant party in Roumania was speedily suppressed, but the Government permits anti-Jewish disturbances. This peculiar attitude towards the Jewish population has long been the secret of Roumanian politics and the Bratiano government simply continues to maintain this tradition”, the report states.
If the Commission appointed to examine and inquire into the situation of those Jews who are refused citizenship will not solve the problem, nothing will be left except to bring the question before the League of Nations.
The report of the Alliance also deals with the condition of the Jews in Poland and it deplores the situation, which is “aggravated by internal dissentions between the various factions and parties, the Folkists, Zionists, Agudists, and the Assimilations who, instead of presenting a united front, fight each other and paralyze their activities. This dissention removes the possibility of securing respect for the rights accorded the Jews through the International Minorities Treaty”, the report concludes.
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