Intermountain Jewish news., 1926-09-16
Continued from a former issue)
III. SOUTH EUROPEAN
COUNTRIES

A year ago, the Jews oil Salonioa
were in sad plight. For centuries
they had been free to observe the
Jewish Sabbath, following their occu-
pations on Sunday. But in 1924, a
Sunday closing law was enacted
which placed them at a disadvantage
compared with new influx of Greek
competitors. During the past year
General Pangalos. the president OF
the Republic, agreed TO permit tho
Jews to keep their shops open for
three hours on Sunday. This will go
long way to solve this vexing prob
lem.
Dark Outlook in ROumsnis
Most of this section. however. will
have to concern itself with Roumania.
A great deal Of light on the situation
Of the Jews there was cast by cor
respondent of the New York Times in
Vienna, quoting a trained observer
conversant with Roumsnian political
affairs. The Liberal Party, accord
ing to this man, is really closely
knit clique of big business men who
control ninety per cent Of the Rou-
manian banks. This control enables
them to remain in political power, to
adopt legislation to fortify their in
terests, and to ruin all their rivals.
Though their mismanagement Of the
eouatry's economic life tends to give
Rounania a bad name abroad, the
Liberals do not care as long as they
enrich themselves. Pointing out that
the misrule which enables them to fill
their Golfers is responsible for the
political despotism obtaining in that
country, the observer goes on to say:
I'm accordance with the time hon
ored recipe, the Liberal Government
tries to compensate or rather to drug
the people by policies of extreme
chauyinism. The oppression of the
nom -Roumanian minorities, such as
the Magyars, Jews and Trsnsylvanian
Germans, chiefly serves rs camou-
asge for the Liberal regimes eco
nomic transactions. The wave of vio-
lent anti-Semitism now sweeping
Roumania also is artificially nurtured
by the Government in order to make
the people forget their wrongs and
shove the blame on the Jews"
There we have not merely a plaus-
ible, but also reasonable explana-
ton of recent events in Roumania
This explains the bewildering success
sion of student riots at the Universi-
ties, the beating up Of Jews on rail
way trains, the firing on synagogues
all these offences going unpunished.
The Government throws up its hands
and means! "They are too strong for
US! Juries will not convict those
charged with anti-Jewish attacks, as
these are regarded as the result of
excess of patriotic zeal" Conditions
have become so outrageous that the
Union of Roumanian Jews which has
heretofore confined its protests to
petitions to the Government, last
February, issued public protest in
which it summarized the situation.
The most amazing miscarriage OF
justice was the Morarescu ease, in
which court martial acquitted Lieut.
Norarescu and twenty-one accom-
plices who confessed to the killing of
two hundred Jewish fugitives from
Russia who attempted to cross the
Dniester River, many of whom came
over with his permission after he had
taken bribes from them.
Not only does the Government per-
nit the anti -Semites to beat, burn,
and kill with impunity, it also at
tempts to harass the Jews by dis
crimjnatory legislation. Thus, last
March, it introduced bill providing
that licenses to sell alcoholic bey-
erages shall be issued only TO Rou-
manian citizens who can read and
write Roumanian and who are in good
health. The many loopholes in. this
act are obvious. In the same month,
the Senate passed a bill for the ex-
clusion of Jewish students from labo-
ratories in medical courses unless the
Jewish communities furnish their
proportion Of corpses for dissection.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Educa-
ton reinstaLed Prof. Alexander Cuza
for a generation the fanatical leader
of the anti-Semites, in the faculty Of
the University of Jassy from which
he had been expelled by his col
leagues a year ago because of his
pernicious influence on the youth.
Recently there was change in
Government, the Liberal Party being
superseded by the Peoples Party, but
events since chen have shown that not
much hope for brighter outlook can
he pjnned 10 This change