The maltreatment of Jews by revenue officials, particularly small Jewish traders in the villages, is disclosed by “Unser Zeit.”
It reports that on August 29th, a tax collector, accompanied by a police sergeant entered the shop of a small Jewish trader in Kishinev, Motti Pekl, and demanded the payment of certain taxes. In support of his demand, he produced a summons which carried a different name.
Pekl drew the attention of the officials to this and insisted that he had already paid his taxes. The officers were adamant however. They insisted upon additional payment threatening to confiscate Pekl’s scales, without which it was impossible for him to continue in business.
The Jewish merchant begged the officers to give him some extension of time to make the payment. The answer of the officials was to fall upon Pekl with sticks. The Jew was saved from their fury by the intervention of neighbors.
Covered with blood from his wounds.
Pekl was hurried to the Finance Administrator, where he complained against the treatment accorded him. The administrator however merely expressed disgust that a Jew should appear before him covered with blood.
“You take every opportunity to demonstrate the red colors in public,” the administrator asserted.
A physician who was asked for a medical certificate attesting to Pekl’s condition replied: “I don’t understand the alarm. After all, he didn’t kill you.”
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.
