A “save our children” campaign was in full swing today among the remaining Jews of Algeria, particularly in the strife-torn city of Oran where new bloodshed is feared with only three days to go before Algeria becomes independent under Moslem rule.
Some 200 unaccompanied child refugees have arrived in France and several hundred more are expected before July 1. The total may reach 3,000 before the end of the year, according to projections prepared by Jewish social workers.
Looming over the Algerian drama is the tragedy of countless children threatened with physical violence and exposed to daily scenes of unparalleled bloodshed and violence. Their parents are anxious to get them to metropolitan France at the earliest possible moment.
One hundred and fifty Jewish child refugees have been placed in Jewish communal institutions in Strasbourg and the Fonds Social Juif Unifie, the principal Jewish welfare agency, is making special efforts to arrange similar facilities in Paris and other centers. The buildings on the outskirts of Paris formerly used by the Alliance Israelite Universelle Teachers Seminary have been prepared to receive several hundred Jewish children and work is in preparation on other sites.
A representative of the Joint Distribution Committee is in Algeria. Together with the FSJU, he is arranging for the transport of children to France. With some 3,500 Jewish refugees arriving in France over the past weekend, the influx is reaching unprecedented totals. Most Jews are seeking to leave Algeria before independence day though French authorities have pledged to provide transportation after July 1.
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.
