Jewish communities in Rumania will now be merged and reorganized under a new statute published in the Official Gazette which becomes effective immediately. The new statute was formulated last November at a conference attended by more than 100 rabbis representing Sephardic and Ashkenazic communities in all parts of the country.
The new by-laws stipulate that only one Jewish community can function in each town and it must comprise all groups which hitherto functioned separately. This single community is given wide facilities to “create, maintain and supervise the institutions necessary for the fulfillment of the religious needs of its followers.”
The Federation of Jewish Communities, the central body of all religious communities, becomes under the new by-laws the supreme administrative authority of the Jewish religious institutions, while the highest spiritual authority will be the Supreme Rabbinical Council composed of 11 members. These members will, until elections are held, be appointed by the Ministry for Religious Affairs acting on recommendations made by the Federation.
All temples, synagogues, cemeteries, Kosher slaughter houses, matzoh bakeries and other Jewish ritual and religious institutions automatically become the property of the Jewish community in the town in which they are located, the new by-laws provide. They also stipulate that no religious service of any kind can be carried out and no rabbi or religious servant can officiate without the consent of the community. A congress of representatives of all Jewish communities must be convoked within six months from now, the regulations state.
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