The Jewish community of Brazil has petitioned the Government to issue travel documents to Jews in Poland, Egypt, Syria and Iraq which would enable them to leave those countries to join their families living in Brazil. The petition was presented to Foreign Minister Jose De Magalhaes Pinto by a delegation representing the Confederation of Jewish Communities of Brazil. They asked the minister to use his “good offices” to expedite the issuance of visas. The Foreign Minister was said to have received the petition favorably. The petition was prompted by the continuing anti-Jewish campaign of the Polish Government and new reports of the harassment of Jews in the Arab countries. In Iraq laws were promulgated last March which deprive Jews of control over their property and debts owed to them and place a minimal ceiling on the wages that Jews can receive.
Forty-eight Brazilian Jews are en route to Israel aboard the liner Theodor Herzl to settle there. They comprise the fourth and largest group of immigrants to leave Brazil for Israel since January, 1968. They are mostly young men and girls under 22 years of age.
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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.