The Federation of Jewish Communities of Rumania held commemorative services in Oradea and Bucharest on the 25th anniversary of the deportation of 160,000 Jews from northern Transylvania to the Auschwitz death camp where most of them were murdered.
Rabbi Moses Rosen, president of the federation, speaking at services at the Oradea Synagogue attended by representatives of the Rumanian Government and of all Rumanian religious groups, urged international action to prevent another Auschwitz against the Jews of Israel. He declared that “if a tyrant threatens extermination of the Jews, one must give credence to him, and humanity must stop his murderous aim, since otherwise, he will keep his word. When we hear again today talk of ‘burning, killing and throwing into the sea’ the remnants of Auschwitz who rebuilt Israel and finally found their home, mankind must do its duty to take measures for defense” because “the danger is not only for the Jews but for all mankind.”
He also added that as long as “forces” existed which reject negotiations to settle differences in favor of war and “as long as the destiny of small peoples is entrusted to great powers, the whole of mankind is threatened with an atomic Auschwitz on a world scale.” Services at the Choral Temple here were followed by a pilgrimage to a symbolic grave of the martyrs in the Jewish cemetery which contains a piece of soap made from the bodies of Jews burned at Auschwitz.
A Congress here of the Federation was attended by delegates from 75 Jewish communities, representing 100,000 Jews. Rabbi Rosen told the gathering that one of the main tasks of the Federation in the future would be to help Jews meet their ritual needs. He also stressed the importance of welfare aid to aged, ill and isolated Rumanian Jews, in which the Federation’s resources are used in combination with Joint Distribution Committee funds. He said under this program, 4,500 neediest Jews get cash, an additional 60,000 receive clothing, fuel Passover grants. Support is provided for nine canteens in Bucharest and other cities which feed more than 13,000 Jews daily. He said that hundreds of young men and women, mostly university students, attend courses in Hebrew and Jewish subjects under federation auspices.
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