A Jewish religious revival in Bohemia and Moravia was forecast here today by Rabbi Victor Vorhand, representative of the Vaad Hatzala of the United States and Canada. In an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, he pointed out that the recent influx of large numbers of orthodox Jews from Slovakia and Carpatho-Russia was bringing about a strengthening of the orthodox movement.
Rabbi Vorhand emphasized that religious life was not interfered with by the authorities, and the Government officials everywhere had expressed good will toward the Jews. He declared that half the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia have returned “to the laws of the Torah.” He also said that relations between native Czech Jews and Jews from Eastern Europe were improving.
Rabbi Vorhand told the JTA correspondent that “new, large Jewish communities were arising in the Sudetenland,” which the Czech Government is now clearing of Germans. He said that 150 people receive free meals daily at the kosher kitchen in Prague, and that ritual baths have been established at Prague, Karlovice, Marianskelazy, Chomutov, and Liberec. He estimated that approximately 200 people per month were using the baths, including some from other districts, whose fare to the baths had to be supplied. He also asserted that the religious community was doing everything possible to support young people desiring to marry.
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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.
