Pope Pius is reported to have told a delegation of Jewish refugees this morning that he favors the emigration to Palestine of displaced Jews, and would so inform his bishops.
The delegation, consisting of 100 refugees who are attending a meeting at Ostia of representatives of displaced Jews in Italy, said that the Pope did not make any mention of a Jewish state. The group was led by an Italian-speaking Yugoslav Jew, Rodolofo Grani.
Grani told Pope Pius that 15,000 Jews from Europe fled to Italy because all European Jewry knew of the generous record of the Italian people in protecting the Jews against anti-Semitic laws during Fascism, and against the Nazis during the occupation. They also came here, he said, because they knew of the Vatican’s humanitarian protection of Jews during the years of war and Nazi Fascist persecution.
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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.