More than 100 Jews have been arrested in Rumania in recent months, according to reports received here today. Among the arrested was a close relative of Theodor Herzl, the “father of political Zionism.” Her parents and husband arrived in Israel some time ago.
Attempts by the Israel Government to intercede on behalf of a number of those arrested who had worked for the Israel Legation in Bucharest, were reported to have failed. The Israel Government had tried both in Jerusalem and Bucharest, to secure the release of the Legation employees.
The Rumanian authorities have claimed that the arrests were for “economic crimes” and have maintained that it is an internal affair, in which Israel has no right to intervene. The “clarification” of the charges against the Legation employees, which the Rumanian Government promised to release has never been given, the report stated.
Idov Cohen, a Member of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, today told a public meeting here that the Rumanian Immigrants Association was planning to take a number of steps on behalf of the arrested Jews, including the calling of a mass meeting and an appeal to international organizations asking for intervention against renewed mass arrest of Jews in Rumania.
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