A royal decree providing for revision of citizenships, in accordance with the program of Premier Octavian Goga’s anti-Semitic National Christian Party and the Cabinet, was promulgated yesterday. Although dealing with general revision, the decree’ actually affects Jews only.
Article 39 of the decree provides that “all persons coming within the present law shall be stricken from the electoral list,” thus disenfranchising a large proportion of the estimated 900,000 Jews in Rumania.
The Ministry of Education prohibited teaching of the Jewish religion in Government schools. The Bar Association of Jassy eliminated 160 Jewish lawyers in a revision of its lists. Thirteen Jewish lawyers were disbarred in Bucharest, where revision was also started.
Following the lead of Bucharest, the mayor of Constanza, prohibited practice of shechita, Jewish ritual method of slaughtering animals for human consumption. (Reuters (British) news agency reported from Bucharest a nation-wide measure prohibiting shechita was expected.)
In accordance with King Carol’s decree, mayors of all communities must compile detailed lists of all Jews entered in the national register. The lists will be posted in town halls and copies submitted to local courts. Within twenty days persons included in the lists must submit to the courts documents proving themselves entitled to Rumanian citizenship. An extension of twenty days may be granted for descendants of deceased persons to obtain necessary documents, and also in other cases where special requests are made. If the documents are not submitted in the stipulated time, the person loses his citizenship.
Jews inhabiting provinces annexed by Rumania after the war must submit documents to prove they were permanent residents of the provinces before 1918. Jews of Old Rumania must submit, first, their birth certificates or, if born abroad, documents showing that their parents were Rumanian citizens; second, documents showing they are not foreign subjects; third, documents showing compliance with conscription regulations.
Final decision rests with the courts, which will annul citizenship of persons who obtained naturalization by fraud or by error. Appeals against the courts’ decisions can be lodged within five days.
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