An “Aryan” convert to Judaism has won from the Rumanian Supreme Court, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind, a decision restoring property that had been taken from him under the country’s anti-Jewish laws.
The case, as reported by the Bukarester Tageblatt, reaching here today, involved “Rumanization” of the property owned by one Andre Benedekt, a Christian by birth who had been converted to the Jewish religion. Contesting the action by the Ministry of Rumanization in expropriating his property as belonging to a Jew, Benedekt’s counsel contended that the purpose of the “Rumanization” law was the protection of “Aryans” whatever their religion. The Bucharest Court of Appeals rejected this interpretation of the law, but it has been upheld on appeal to Rumania’s highest court, which ruled that the law had in mind the ethnic origin rather than the religion of the person affected by it.
Meanwhile, several cases involving Jewish converts to Christianity are also being tried in Rumanian courts, some concerned with confiscation of property belonging to converts of more than 30 years standing before enactment of the “Rumanization” law. In one case, the Ministry of Rumanization contended that the conversion was acceptable only if it applied to the Greek Orthodox religion, Rumania’s official State religion. The court ruled, however, that converts to any Christian denomination were protect by the “Rumanization” law.
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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.
