Warsaw Police Arrest Jews Visiting Israeli Legation

In a new move to discourage Jews in Poland seeking to emigrate to Israel, the Polish police have set up a watch around the Israel Legation in Warsaw and are arresting Jews visiting the building, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency learned today.

The JTA’s informant is a reputable Polish Jew who managed to escape from Warsaw this month. He said that of the 40,000 Jews in Poland, at least 15,000 could be regarded as potential immigrants for Israel.

Jews who had called at the Israel Legation on February 2 were arrested by uniformed police as they left and were taken away, he said. The same thing happened on the following day, he said. By the week-end, word of the police action had gotten around the community and only two Jews dared to visit the legation. They too were arrested.

Sixteen Jews, who came to Warsaw from provincial centers and presumably were unaware of the police measures, visited the legation on February 11, the JTA informant reported. They were seized by the police as they left and taken away in commandeered taxis.

Later on the same day, he said, four Jews left the legation closely followed by a woman believed to be a legation staff member, giving rise to the belief that the legation was seeking to ascertain what was going on. The four were picked up by the police later in the day. The police subsequently changed their tactics and replaced the uniformed police watch around the legation by plainclothesmen.

The JTA’s informant said that it was later established that the arrested men were examined for several hours. During the grilling they were repeatedly asked the reason for their visit to the legation, what they had discussed there and whether the legation staff had attempted to influence them to emigrate to Israel. They were also warned that they would suffer “severe consequences” if they were caught entering the legation again.