Some 200 of the approximately 500 Polish Jewish refugees in Italy will be unable to proceed to Palestine although they possess entry certificates for that country, it became known today, because the British Government is barring from Palestine all Jews who left Nazi-occupied Poland after Oct. 1, 1939. (Britain’s decision was apparently motivated by the fact that these Jews had left a territory which was under German control and thus could technically be considered as “enemy aliens.”)
In an effort to obtain a change in London’s attitude, a Jewish delegation has come here from Trieste, where 300 of the 500 refugees reside, and has contacted the Polish Embassy, which is understood to have forwarded a memorandum with “observations” to the exiled Polish Government in France.
There have been incidents recently in Trieste, where refugees were informed by the police that they must continue their migration or face expulsion across the German frontier. It is understood, however, that the action was taken on local initiative and was halted when brought to the attention of the authorities in Rome.
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