ANTI-SEMITIC BILL

Opunake Times, 24 February 1939, Page 1

ANTI-SEMITIC BILL

SOUTH AFRICAN PLAN

POLICY OE NATIONALS

One of the leading’ members of the Opposition, Mr. Eric Louw, M. 8., formerly South Africa’s Minister at Washinglon, intends to introduce an antiSemitic Bill, the Aliens (Amendment) and Immigration Bill, during the coming season of the Union Assembly. The bill proposes to delete Yiddish from the list of European languages, the knowledge of any one of which is a necessary preliminary to immigration to the Union. ••

A further clause lays down that no applicant for permission to migrate to the Union who is of Jewish parentage shall be deemed to be readily assimilable. AssimMability Under existing legislation, any person who is not British born is regarded as an alien, but the bill npw proposes to widen the meaning of the term “alien’’ by applying thereto the* assimilability test. Thus, a Britishborn person, who falls in the category “not readily assimilable,” may be refused admission to the Union.

The bill is also directed against Gqinmunism, and any one connected with the movement in any way will not be admitted as an immigrant. The objects of the bill are summarised as follows;

“To prevent people of Jewish parentage being given permits to reside permanently in the Union. “To cancel the permits of aliens found to he without visibly means of subsistence, or to have engaged in Communistic or other subversive activities. Registration of Aliens “To compel aliens to obtain registration cards, to be shown on demand to the police. “To forbid aliens to change their names. “To compel business firms to reveal fully the names of their owners, partners or directors. “To compel employers of lens to obtain permits for the onrpose from the Minister of the Interior.” 1

Tlu» bill provides for an annual report from the Immigration Department, uiviny full do tails of the operation of the Aliens Act.

It is not. of course, anticipated that such a bill could, under present, conditions, be -passed in the Assembly; hut it may be said to represent the declared oolic • of the Nationalist Party on the Jewish question.