(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
For saying that the late King Ferdinand of Roumania was a Jew, Joan Alexa, a Roumanian attorney, was ordered to pay a heavy fine.
The military court of Temesvar, Transylvania, imposed the fine following a trial which attracted wide attention. The charges against Alexa were brought upon testimony of witnesses that during a party in a wayside inn the attorney had declared that King Ferdinand was a Jew.
The counsel for the defense offered several arguments. First, it was argued, Joan Alexa was known for his Roumanian patriotism which is proven by the fact that in the same conversation he had delcared that the national minorities in Roumania were nothing but gypsies; secondly, the the term “Jew” does not imply an insult; third, that Alexa did not refer to the late King Ferdinand, but to the former Kaiser Wilhelm, concerning whom the Hungarian press in Transylvania carried lengthy articles alleging his Jewish origin; fourth, that Alexa was drunk during the conversation.
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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.
