Thirty-three Jewish refugees released from concentration camps in Italy have sailed on the Greek steamship Nea Hellas for New York en route to the Dominican Republic, where they will settle in the Sosua colony. (The Nea Hellas is scheduled to reach New York on Sunday.)
Another 34 refugees selected in Switzerland by Solomon Trone, representative of the Dominican Republic Settlement Association, which is sponsoring the colony, have arrived here and will leave as soon as possible.
The group from Italy are part of a large number whose plans to sail from Italy were blocked with Rome’s entry into the war and who were interned. They are the first group to leave Italy since last May. The refugees report receiving good treatment in the Italian camps.
Chief Rabbi Pacifica of Genoa presented the group with an antique “Sefer Torah” (Scroll of the Law) as ” a taken of religious unity,” when they sailed from the Italian port for Lisbon. They all have received American transit visas and will remain at Ellis Island pending reembarkation for the Dominican Republic.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.