Editorials praising the methodical thoroughness with which Italy went about eliminating Jews from the nation’s life were published by all newspapers Friday in observing the first anniversary of the inauguration of Italian racialism.
The newspapers listed chronologically the steps in the racial program, declaring that “only under Fascism could such an important program show such splendid results in so short a period.”
Emphasizing the necessity for completing elimination of Jews from Italian life, the Rome newspaper Tribuna called on all Italians to help the Government in “this work of purification.” The Rhodes newspaper Messagero declares “we must protect our cultural patrimony from the subversive influence of the Semitic mentality.” Giornale d’Italia, of Rome, adds that this program will tend to make Italy “feared in the eyes of the rest of the world.” Premier Mussolini’s Milan newspaper Popolo d’Italia stressed that the nation’s economic life had not been disturbed in the slightest by the anti-Jewish drive.
Most newspapers emphasized that the Italian anti-Jewish measures had no connection with the Nazi racial policies. Regime Fascista, Roberto Farinacci’s newspaper in Cremona, alone admitted that Italy’s anti-Semitic laws were the direct result of the close relationship between Italy and “other anti-Semitic peoples,” constituting a united front against the democracies “where Jews occupy the dominating positions.”
The Education Ministry has ordered that Jewish university students be segregated from the rest of the student body when taking examinations, it was announced today.
To meet the expenses of the Jewish High School in Rome, Jews are now being taxed 200 lire each in addition to the regular school tax which they must pay. In addition to Jewish elementary schools in Rome, there are four Government schools with a mixed enrollment. Jewish students attend these schools in the afternoon, while “Aryan” students go in the morning.
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.
