Rosen Urges That Aliya from Rumania Not Be Made into a Public Issue

Rabbi Moses Rosen, the Chief Rabbi of Rumania, today urged those concerned with the welfare of the Rumanian Jewish community and with aliya from Rumanian not to make the question of aliya a public issue as it has been for the last six months. He said that during the 16 previous years in which there was silence on the issue some 300,000 Rumanian Jews emigrated to Israel, the conditions of the Rumanian Jewish community improved and there was an improvement in the relations between Rumania and Israel.

Rabbi Rosen’s remarks were made in response to questions at a press conference at the office of the Joint Distribution Committee. “I refuse to give any statements on this problem, “Rabbi Rosen said and urged” other people to do the same thing.” However, he noted the policy of re-uniting families continues. Charges that Rumania had clamped down on Jewish emigration came up during the Congress’ consideration of most favored nation treatment status for Rumania. Congress approved the MFN bill after emigration from Rumania reportedly increased last summer.

The Chief Rabbi said he is in the U.S. to appear Monday night at the “Dialogue ’75” series at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in N.Y. He said he will also be speaking for the United Jewish Appeal, the Council of Jewish. Federations and Welfare Funds, the JDC and the Canadian Jewish Congress and Mizrachi of Canada.

BRANDS UN RESOLUTION A ‘SHAME’

The Chief Rabbi called the UN resolution a “shame,” and said it was not only against Jews. He said to condemn Zion is to go against the word of God not only for the Jewish religion but for other religions that accept the Bible. He asked how could Jews be called racists since “we were the first victims of racism.”

Rabbi Rosen also urged international Jewish organizations to help the Rumanian Jewish community survive. He praised the JDC for its financial contributions to that survival. But he said more than money was needed since the community lacked leadership and there were only three rabbis and 10 shochtim left in Rumania, He said there must be a responsibility among Jews to send rabbis and shochtim to Rumania.

DEPOSITION ABOUT TRIFA

Rabbi Rosen revealed that he had given this morning a deposition to member of the Justice Department’s Immigration and Naturalization Service about Valerian D. Trifa, the Rumanian Orthodox Bishop of America, who faces deportation charges on the grounds of denying his membership in the Rumanian Fascist Iron Guard and his participation in the murder of Jews in Rumania in 1941, Rabbi Rosen, who said he first raised the issue of Trifa with the Justice Department in 1961, said that for Rumanian Jews there is no question that “Trifa is a killer of Jews.”