A delegation from the World Jewish Congress called today at the State Department to draw its attention to a decree of the Libyan Government dissolving the Jewish Community Council of Tripolitania, a Libyan province, and placing a government-appointed Commissioner in its place.
The decree, Number 27, passed on December 31, 1958, gave the Commissioner, Sayed Amar Sasi Atyia, the same powers that the deposed administrative council had exercised. The president of the deposed council was ordered to assist the Commissioner in taking over.
The decree empowered the Commissioner to: “Take over all operations of the Jewish community and all its monies, properties, deeds, papers, books, correspondence files and other things concerned with its (the community’s) affairs.”
The WJC delegation that called at the State Department consisted of Dr. Maurice L. Ferlzweig of New York and A. L. Easterman of London. The World Jewish Congress estimates that there are some 4, 300 Jews in Libya, the majority of them in Tripolitania. Most of the Jews live in Tripoli, with a smaller community in Benghazi.
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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.
