The French authorities in Algeria today denied, in an official communique, that any Jews were killed in the recent Moslem-French rioting. Jewish organizations here also have been informed by their offices in Algeria that no Jew was killed and none seriously injured.
The reports indicated that an unknown number of Jews were slightly injured either in the general rioting or in some special anti-Jewish actions.
The organizations also received reports from North Africa that the Jewish community in Algiers is in a condition of acute anxiety because of the wrecking and desecration of the Casbah synagogue, the largest and finest in the entire French North African territory.
The synagogue had been in little use in recent years because few members of the Jewish community dared to enter the heart of the Casbah where it was located. Latest reports indicated that the structure was completely wrecked. The outer gates were torn down, the synagogue’s sacred books were torn to shreds and the walls smeared with anti-Jewish slogans and swastikas.
The “Action Committee for the Defense of Democracy,” headed by Jacques Soustelle, issued a statement today deploring the anti-Jewish incidents and calling on French security forces to assure adequate protection for all citizens in Algeria.
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