No official confirmation was available today of a report over the Rome radio that the Rumanian Government is planning to order the expulsion of all Jews originating from Bessarabia. Nevertheless, it is understood that in recent days a large number of Bessarabian Jews have received orders from the Ministry of Interior to leave the country within five days.
At the time of the Russian entry into Bessarabia and North Bukowina an estimated 30,000 Bessarabian Jews were living in Rumania proper. It is impossible to state with any accuracy how many have since emigrated to Soviet-occupied territory, but it is safe to say that at least two-thirds, or about 20,000, still remain in Old Rumania.
Emigration of Bessarabians–Gentiles as well as Jews–is still going on and large numbers are seen in Bucharest every day. At the request of the Soviet Legation, Bessarabians anxious to return to their homeland are no longer required to report directly to the Prefecture of Police but may proceed directly to Galatz and ask for permission to enter Soviet territory there.
To what extent normal conditions have been restored in Soviet-held Bessarabia it is impossible to say from here. It is understood, however, that the old frontier is still being maintained and that the passage of individuals from the Soviet Union to Bessarabia and vice versa is forbidden, as it is from Poland.
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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.
