With the approach of Passover, the anti-Semitic organization of Florina repeated the ritual murder accusation it conducted in 1925 and 1926 against the Jews of the town.
Two Greek children aged 5 and 7 were reported lost. The parents said that they were sure that the Jews had kidnapped them to kill them for ritual purposes. A mob gathered in the streets and shouted “Kill the Jews.”
The Chief of Police said that he believed the Jews had kidnapped the children, and he instructed the Rabbi of Florina to restore the children to their parents. The Greek Metropolitan, however, intervened on behalf of the Jews and persuaded the police to undertake a search for the missing children. Feeling in the town ran high and militia had to be posted in the Jewish quarter to protect the Jewish population from the infuriated mob. Eventually the children were found by the police in a neighboring village.
An investigation into the affair has been ordered by the authorities.
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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.
