All the institutions of the Jewish Community of Kishineff, the capital of Bessarabia, are on the verge of collapse, because of the serious fall of revenue, particularly that derived from the sale of kosher meat, the principal source of communal revenue, it was reported to a special meeting of the Board of the Kishineff Jewish Community held to consider the situation.
The Jewish inhabitants of Kishineff, it was stated, cannot afford to buy meat at all now, with the result that this source of revenue is practically closed.
The schools of the Kishineff Jewish Community were due to have been reopened several weeks ago, but they are still closed because there are no funds in hand for the purpose. 2,000 Jewish school children are therefore left without schooling, and since they belong to the poorest sections of the population, the parents being hard-put to it trying to earn a living, and have no time to look after their children, they are also left to run wild.
The officials of the Community, it was also reported, have not received salaries for months past and are almost in a state of destitution.
Ex-Senator Chief Rabbi Zirelsohn, speaking at the meeting on behalf of the Orthodox fraction, complained that it was unfair that the Orthodox section of the population, which is strict about the observance of Kashruth, should be expected to contribute the greater part of the Community revenue through the Shechita tax. He did not see why the others should escape their responsibility, he said, and he proposed, therefore, that there should be a special community tax levied on those Jews who do not buy kosher meat. If this was not done, the orthodox section would leave the Community, he said.
The representatives of the other groups and many of the public present in the gallery protested against the threat, and when the orthodox members rose to leave the hall they found the exits blocked against them, and they were threatened with violence.
The meeting had to be suspended, and police were called in and made several arrests.
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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.
