(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Polish Jewry was greatly relieved to learn of the dismissal of Jerzy Or, an apostate Jew, from his post in the Ministry of the Interior, by an order of the Ministry.
Jerzy Or, or Jerzy Orenstein, was for many years in charge of reporting to the Ministry on the Jewish press and on Jewish affairs in Poland. For many years prior to the war, Orenstein was responsible for the wild anti-Semitic propaganda conducted throughout the Polish press.
Born in a Chassidic family, Orenstein became a convert to Catholicism and joined the anti-Semitic newspaper, “Dwa Grosze,” the organ of the national democrats who preached anti-Jewish boycotts since 1912. In that paper, Orenstein day by day falsified quotations from the Jewish press and indulged in from the Jewish press and indulged in continual malicious slander. He also followed in the footsteps of the apostates of old in misrepresenting quotations from the Talmud and Jewish books, to furnish the Polish anti-Semites with “texts” for their attacks. He conducted this poisonous propaganda in his capacity of official for Jewish affairs in the Ministry of the Interior. He caused many difficulties to the Jewish press in Poland and to authors of Jewish books. It was stated that he embarked upon his malicious campaign since the time he attended a Zionist conference in Minsk many years before the war. He was at that time an apostate and when this was learned, he was removed from the conference.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
