Dr. Samson Rosenbaum, Minister for Jewish Affairs in Lithuania, has resigned from office. The resignation is no surprise in view of the Government’s distinctly hostile attitude toward the Ministry in refusing it the meagre financial assistance it had been receiving.
The hostile attitude of the Government Party and the Cabinet was first evinced a short while ago when the Budget Committee refused to include in its budget the Ministry’s subsidy which amounted to about a thousand dollars a year. The Sejm took the same action with regard to the White Russian Ministry.
The position taken by the Government in this matter is a natural corrallary of its stand with regard to the entire question of minority rights. When the question came up before the League of Nations, the representatives of Lithuania refused to give their written guarantee that the rights of the minorities would be protected. This was later endorsed by the Sejm which decided that it was not necessary to give a written pledge.
Dr. Rosenbaum, nevertheless, still hoped for a change in the Government’s attitude. In fact, during his recent visit to London he declared in an interview that the political condition of the Jews in Lithuania, although not altogether favorable was much better then in other countries. That he was forced to change his optimistic view on his return can be seen by his resignation.
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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.
