Acts – Page 135 – OAJA.org

1. Full Date of Act	1898
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	[Russian Occupied Moldavia
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Romania
4. Text of Act	Commentary from other sources: 1) Jews are excluded from the secondary schools and the universities. “Jewish Encyclopedia: Romania" Online article
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Jan. 22, 1899
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Law restricting Jewish participation in electoral assemblies and elective assemblies.
3. Geography of Act	Russian Empire
4. Text of Act	As a temporary measure, pending revision of the laws in force concerning Jews, it is decreed: Jewish merchants of the first guild and members of their families who registered with the merchant class of the city of Moscow and the cities of the Moscow province after the publication of the regulation of the Committee of Ministers, approved by the Supreme Council on January 22, 1899, are not allowed to participate in Electoral Assemblies and in Elective Assemblies of the Merchant Class, as well as to occupy positions in the class administration and at the same time do not pay local class dues.
5. Source	Jewish World of Ukraine, “О евреях. (Свод законов Российской Империи. Том девятый. Свод законов о состояниях. Книга первая. Раздел пятый. О состоянии инородцев. Глава вторая) 1912 г. [On Jews. (Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. Volume Nine. Code of Laws on States. Book One. Section Five. On the State of Foreigners. Chapter Two) 1912],” ju.org.ua, accessed Oct. 3, 2024.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Translator The text of this Act is available in Russian in the source above. It was translated using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	Oct. 9, 1899
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Circular No. 4170 to the Directors of all Jewish Schools in the Country
3. Geography of Act	Romania
4. Text of Act	The Ministry having learned that in many Jewish schools in the country classes are held on Sundays, the undersigned, following Notice No. 5 of September 16 from Mr. Dr. Oncioul, Inspector of Private Schools, brings to your knowledge that, Sunday being a public holiday provided for by law, the Ministry does not allow schools to be open on Sundays.
5. Source	Edmond Sincerus, "Les Juifs en Roumanie," MacMillan and Co., London, 1901, p. 140-141, available from archive.org.
6. Researcher	Laure Berthelot (Covington)
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Researcher Translated from French using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	Oct. 29, 1899
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Order of the General Council of the Russian Empire on Jewish residency.
3. Geography of Act	Russian Empire
4. Text of Act	Jews are not allowed to settle, even at a close distance from an urban settlement, on plots separated by peasant lands, i.e. rural areas.
5. Source	M. I. Mysh, “Руководство к русским законам о евреях [A Guide to Russian Laws on Jews],” St Petersburg, 1914, p. 156, available from books.google.com.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Translator The text of this Act is available in Russian in the source above. It was translated using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	Feb. 14, 1900
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Order to all to the Directors of all Jewish Schools in the Country
3. Geography of Act	Romania
4. Text of Act	The Ministry having learned that in many Jewish schools in the country students remain in class at Hebrew instruction time, with their heads covered, the undersigned, following notice No. 649 of January 20 of Mr. Dr. Oncioul, Inspector of Private Schools, informs you that such a habit, contrary to school rules and discipline, cannot be tolerated; I therefore invite you to prohibit students from attending school with their heads covered, private schools being obliged to conform in all respects to the rules and discipline prescribed for state schools.
5. Source	Edmond Sincerus, "Les Juifs en Roumanie," MacMillan and Co., London, 1901, p. 143, available from archive.org.
6. Researcher	Laure Berthelot (Covington)
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Researcher Translated from French using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	May 18, 1900
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Decree of the Minister of the Interior, Baron von Rheinbaben, on the authorization of Jewish name changes.
3. Geography of Act	Prussia
4. Text of Act	Recently, repeated concerns have been raised that applications for changes to Jewish family names have been approved by certain authorities without sufficient justification, or at least without due consideration of the objections that could arise from the choice of the new name. To ensure a desirable consistency in the handling of such applications, I feel compelled,… to stipulate that henceforth requests for the approval of name changes for individuals of Jewish faith or Jewish descent, or for the confirmation of the family name adopted by a Jew upon conversion to Christianity, will not be granted without my prior authorization. Therefore, Your Excellencies are requested to report to me, with a detailed explanation of the circumstances, on any applications of this nature that appear worthy of consideration, before making any decisions
5. Source	“Ministerialerlass vom 18. Mai 1900 [Ministerial Decree of May 18, 1900],” jinh.lima-city.de, accessed on Oct. 14, 2024.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Translator The text of this Act is available in German in the source above. It was translated into English using chatgpt.com.

1. Full Date of Act	Jun. 8, 1903
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	§31 of the Law on Private Gold Mining
3. Geography of Act	Russian Empire
4. Text of Act	Jews not being allowed to occupy themselves in gold mining cannot be agents or others in that industry
5. Source	Russo-Jewish Committee, “The Persecution of the Jews in Russia: With Appendix Containing a Summary of Special & Restrictive Laws,” Wertheimer, Lea & Co., London, 1890, p. 63, available from books.google.com.
6. Researcher	Andrey Bogancha, Sherli Frank
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Researcher The text of this Act is available in Russian in the “Complete Collection of the Law of the Russian Empire,” Volume 23, No. 23112, Saint Petersburg, 1905, p. 698, available from nlr.ru. It was found and verified by Andrey Bogancha.

1. Full Date of Act	Jun. 7, 1904
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Article 1 of Law No. 1173 on Jewish residency in the Western Border and Bessarabian provinces.
3. Geography of Act	Russian Empire
4. Text of Act	In the western border provinces and in the Bessarabian provinces, within fifty miles from the border, Jews are subject to all laws on the residence of the said persons, in effect within the Pale of Jewish Settlement.
5. Source	Jewish World of Ukraine, “О евреях. (Свод законов Российской Империи. Том девятый. Свод законов о состояниях. Книга первая. Раздел пятый. О состоянии инородцев. Глава вторая) 1912 г. [On Jews. (Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. Volume Nine. Code of Laws on States. Book One. Section Five. On the State of Foreigners. Chapter Two) 1912],” ju.org.ua, accessed Oct. 3, 2024.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Researcher According to the source above, such laws in force include restrictions on living outside of the towns and cities, and moving from one rural area to another. Translator The text of this Act is available in Russian in the source above. It was translated using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	1905
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Decree Stipulating the Nature of Relations between Muslims and non-Muslims” issued by Sulayman b. Yihya Habshush
3. Geography of Act	Yemen [Provisional]
4. Text of Act	"In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Beneficent. This is a decree, which the Jews must obey as commanded. They are obliged to observe everything in it. They are forbidden to disobey it. […] That is that these Jews are guaranteed protection upon payment of the jizya by each adult male - from the rich, 48 silver qafla, which is equivalent to 3 3/4 riyal; from the middle class, 24 qafla, or 2 7/8 riyal; from the poor, 12 qafla, or 16/17 riyal. In this way, their blood is spared, and they are brought into the pact of protection. They may not avoid it. It is incumbent upon each individual to pay it prior to the year’s end into the hand of the person whom we have commended to receive it from them. […] Furthermore, they are required to pay on their commercial transactions whose value is equal to the legal taxable minimum, five percent per annum. […] The aforementioned jizya and tariff are incumbent upon them. They are not to assist each other against a Muslim. They may not build their houses higher than Muslim homes. They shall not crowd them in their streets. They may not turn them away from their watering places. […] They may not ride on saddles, but only sit sidesaddle. They may not wink or point to the nakedness of a Muslim. They may not display their Torah except in their synagogues. Neither shall they raise their voices when reading, nor blow their shofars loudly. Rather, a muffled voice will suffice. They are forbidden from engaging in reprehensible relations which bring down the wrath of Heaven. It is their duty to recognize the superiority of the Muslim and to accord him honor. […] The Jews shall conduct themselves as is required. They shall live in their homes and shall refrain from whatever is to be avoided. He [a Jew] is to carry this out and to conduct wisely the affairs of all who are under the Prophet’s pact of protection and under ours."
5. Source	Center for Online Judiac Studies; Merorot, Eshkolot: The Yemenites, ed. S. D. Goitein; (Jerusalem, 1983); p.p. 190-91 (Arabic)
6. Researcher	Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research	2016
8. Notes	Researcher The exact date of this decree is unknown.

1. Full Date of Act	Sep. 16, 1908
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Law restricting Jewish student’s access to higher education.
3. Geography of Act	Russian Empire
4. Text of Act	It is most sovereignly ordered: with regard to the admission of Jews to higher educational institutions of all departments, with the exception of the conservatories of the Imperial Russian Musical Society, to decree that in those of the said higher educational institutions for which there are no precise instructions on this subject in the relevant charters and regulations, the following percentage standards are observed in relation to the total number of students: three percent for educational institutions in the capital, five percent for those located in other localities of the Empire outside the Pale of Jewish Settlement, and ten percent in the region of this settlement.
5. Source	Jewish World of Ukraine, “О евреях. (Свод законов Российской Империи. Том девятый. Свод законов о состояниях. Книга первая. Раздел пятый. О состоянии инородцев. Глава вторая) 1912 г. [On Jews. (Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. Volume Nine. Code of Laws on States. Book One. Section Five. On the State of Foreigners. Chapter Two) 1912],” ju.org.ua, accessed Oct. 3, 2024.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Translator The text of this Act is available in Russian in the source above. It was translated using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	Aug. 22, 1909
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Law restricting Jewish access to secondary education institutions.
3. Geography of Act	Russian Empire
4. Text of Act	It is most high-ordered: I. Concerning the admission of Jews to secondary educational institutions, the following rules are to be established: 1) The percentage standards for the admission of Jews to government secondary educational institutions of all departments, maintained by the state treasury, are determined at five percent of the total number of students in the capital's educational institutions, ten percent in educational institutions in other localities of the Empire, outside the Jewish Pale of Settlement, and fifteen percent in the region of the said Pale of Settlement. 2) Those educational institutions provided for in the previous (1) paragraph, in which Jews were not admitted at all before August 22, 1909, such as, for example, the Pavel Galagan College, the Nizhny Novgorod Nobility Institute of Emperor Alexander II, the Gatchina Nikolaevsky Orphanage Institute, etc., shall remain closed to Jews in the future. … 7) The number of Jews admitted with the rank of apothecary assistant to attend lectures at universities in preparation for receiving the rank of pharmacist shall be limited, in relation to the total number of such listeners at each university, by the following norms: six percent for Moscow University, ten percent for universities in other areas of the Empire, outside the Jewish Pale of Settlement, and twenty percent for universities in the region of the said Pale of Settlement.
5. Source	Jewish World of Ukraine, “О евреях. (Свод законов Российской Империи. Том девятый. Свод законов о состояниях. Книга первая. Раздел пятый. О состоянии инородцев. Глава вторая) 1912 г. [On Jews. (Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. Volume Nine. Code of Laws on States. Book One. Section Five. On the State of Foreigners. Chapter Two) 1912],” ju.org.ua, accessed Oct. 3, 2024.
6. Researcher	Sherli Frank
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Translator The text of this Act is available in Russian in the source above. It was translated using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	1910
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Law of Inorodci issued by Russian Empire
3. Geography of Act	Russia
4. Text of Act	Commentary from other sources: 1) “The Law on Inorodci published in 1910…declared that Jews were prohibited from wearing their traditional clothing throughout…of the Empire. In the same book as an Appendix to the same Law on Inorodci the regulations of the Korobka tax for Jews in Kurzeme [Kurland] and R?ga are also published. It is stated that the making of Jewish clothes for a woman or a man worth more than 3 Roubles should be charged by Korobka tax… It can be concluded that in these regions it was allowed to wear Jewish clothing, which came into contradiction with the main text of the Law on Inorodci…The Law on Inorodci…prohibited Jewish women from shaving their hair off.” Bruno Martuzans: “Rules for Jews in Russia Empire. Pales; Fashion Pale.” (2002) Online article
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Feb. 15, 1910
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Circular No. 1729 from the Ministry of Finance to the Treasury Chambers on the status of merchant class family members.
3. Geography of Act	Russian Empire
4. Text of Act	[in relation to] the heads of families who have spent 10 years in the merchant class of the 1st guild outside the Jewish Pale of Settlement, with their wives in the bourgeois societies outside the Jewish Pale of Settlement, members of their families cannot be included either together with the head of the family or independently in the said bourgeois societies, but can only reside outside the Pale of Settlement with the head of the family;
5. Source	M. I. Mysh, “Руководство к русским законам о евреях [A Guide to Russian Laws on Jews],” St Petersburg, 1914, p. 186, available from books.google.com.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Researcher According to the source above, the rights of members of Jewish merchant families to independent residence, “were recognized in the past; [but] in recent years,... views have changed and their rights are [now] rejected.” Translator The text of the Act is available in Russian in the source above. It was translated into English using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	Jun. 12, 1912
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Article 21 of the Law on the Transformation of the Local Court
3. Geography of Act	Russian Empire
4. Text of Act	Jews cannot be justices of the peace.
5. Source	M. I. Mysh, “Руководство к русским законам о евреях [A Guide to Russian Laws on Jews],” St Petersburg, 1914, p. 483, available from books.google.com.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Translator The text of this Act is available in Russian in the source above. It was translated into English using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	Nov. 27, 1914
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Governmental Military Order No. 89 Issued to the Soldiers of the Fortified Region, Fortress Novogeorgievsk
3. Geography of Act	Russian Empire
4. Text of Act	In order to protect the army from the harmful activities of the Jewish population, the Commander-in-Chief has ordered that the forces of occupation take hostages from among the Jewish population, warning the inhabitants that in case of treacherous activities on the part of any one of the local inhabitants not only during the period of our occupation of a given inhabited point, but also after leaving it, the hostages will be executed.
5. Source	American Jewish Committee, “The Jews in the Eastern War Zone,” New York, 1916, p. 53, available from HeinOnline.
6. Researcher	Jennifer Allison
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Jan. 25, 1915
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Official Proclamation issued by Behadine Effendi, Secretary to Ottoman Military Leader Djemil Pasha, against Zionism.
3. Geography of Act	Ottoman Empire
4. Text of Act	The Government - in opposing the acts of those elements which, through intrigues are trying to create in the Palestinian region of the Ottoman empire, a Jewish state under the name of Zionism and who are thus harming the sons of their own race - has ordered the confiscation of the postage stamps, Zionist flags, paper money, bank notes of the Anglo-Palestine Company, Ltd. in the form of checks which are spread among these elements and has decreed the dissolution of all the clandestine Zionist societies and organizations.
5. Source	Frank E. Manuel, “The Realities of American-Palestine Relations,” Public Affairs Press, Washington D.C., 1949, p. 129, available from heinonline.org.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Apr. 27, 1915
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Governmental Military Order No. 1193 on the loyalty of Jewish soldiers.
3. Geography of Act	Russian Empire
4. Text of Act	The General Staff,…. commands all the troops to watch the Jewish soldiers - especially in their readiness to surrender as prisoners - and in general, their entire conduct.
5. Source	American Jewish Committee, “The Jews in the Eastern War Zone,” New York, 1916, p. 54, available from HeinOnline.
6. Researcher	Jennifer Allison
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	1916
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	"Law Restricting the use of Yiddish in Public Administration"
3. Geography of Act	Romania
4. Text of Act	Commentary from other sources: 1) "Yiddish, long used as a language of public administration in Bessarabia and Northern Moldavia, was declared unacceptable." yadvashem.org
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Feb. 28, 1917
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Ordinance” of the Royal Chancellery
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Austria
4. Text of Act	[…] 2) Widows of tolerated [Jews], who have been granted toleration after the regulation of May 9, 1807, should on the other hand, leave their family constellation (‘Familienstellen’)* if they do not take over the [trade] activities of the[ir] deceased [husbands] and in such cases, the government is to verify this and make sure at once whether the widow should be required to take her children along with her or whether they should be left with the oldest son or the brother who continues the paternal toleration […] because otherwise, when these /get married, the number of Israeli-families would greatly increase. […]
5. Source	Beyträge zur politischen Gesetzkunde im österreichischen Kaiserstaate; Herausgegeben von Johann Ludwig Ehrereich (Graf von Barth-Barthenheim): Erster Band; (Wien; 1821); (Contributions to the Political Statutes of the Austrian Royal State; published by Johann Ludwig Ehrereich (Earl of Barth-Barthenheim); (Volume I); (Vienna; 1821)
6. Researcher & Translator	Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research & Translation	2017
8. Notes	Researcher A distinction was made between a) widows of Jews who had been granted toleration [permits] before the regulation of May 9, 1807, and b) those who were awarded toleration [permits] after that date. Widows who fit the first category were permitted to remain with their children in the land while widows of the second category faced stricter restrictions. **‘Familienstellen’ were established by the government and consisted of a fixed number of spots for Jews in an attempt to limit their numbers in a community.

1. Full Date of Act	Apr. 15, 1917
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Resolution No. 6 of the Provisional Government on the Election of City Duma Members and on District City Administrations.
3. Geography of Act	Russia
4. Text of Act	Until the revision of the laws in force concerning Jews, the following rules have been established: 1) Jews are not allowed to participate in city Electoral Assemblies and meetings of householders … as well as to hold positions in city public administration and to manage individual branches of city economy and administration.
5. Source	Electronic Library of Historical Documents, “Из постановления Временного правительства «О производстве выборов гласных городских дум и об участковых городских управлениях». 15 апреля 1917 г. [From the Resolution of the Provisional Government ‘On the Proceedings of Elections of Public City Dumas and on Precinct City Administrations,’ Monday, April 15, 1917],” docs.historyrussia.org, accessed September 25, 2024.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Translator The name and text of this Act is available in Russian in the source above. It was translated using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	Aug. 19, 1918
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Declaration of the Commissariat for Jewish Affairs on instruction in Jewish schools.
3. Geography of Act	Russia
4. Text of Act	1. The language of instruction must be the native tongue (Yiddish). 2. In the first school year Hebrew is not to be taught. 3. In the second grade Hebrew should not be taught more than six hours a week. 4. In the schools that are being opened now, Hebrew is to begin with the fourth grade. 5. Religion is completely banned from the Jewish folk schools.
5. Source	Elias Schulman, “A History of Jewish Education in the Soviet Union,” KTAV Publishing House, New York, 1971, p. 57, available from archive.org.
6. Researcher	Kate Wraith
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Jul. 16, 1919
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Decree of the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs and the People's Commissariat of Nationalities on the closing of Zionist organizations.
3. Geography of Act	Russia
4. Text of Act	Zionist organizations in Russia should be closed with all their institutions and all property transferred to the jurisdiction of the Commissariat for Jewish National Affairs.
5. Source	Electronic Library of Historical Documents, “Explanatory Note of the Central Bureau of Jewish Communist Sections to the Draft Decree on the Closure of the Zionist Organization and Institution,” docs.historyrussia.org, accessed September 16, 2024.
6. Researcher	Marty Taxay (Latham)
7. Year of Research	2024
8. Notes	Translator This Act is available in Russian from the source above. It was translated using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	1920
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	"Restriction on Enrollment for Jewish Students"
3. Geography of Act	Canada
4. Text of Act	Commentary from other sources: 1) "During the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s McGill University had a quota system for Jews, and through the 1960’s McGill had a quota on Jewish medical students." "McGill University’s Rampant, Historic, and Current Anti-Semitism;" algemeiner.com 2) "During the 20's, 30's and 40's when McGill University had a quota system for Jews, the Université de Montréal received Jewish law students on their merits." https://www.mcgill.ca/maritimelaw/history/richler
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Feb. 24, 1920
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	25-point programme issued by National Socialist German Workers Party
3. Geography of Act	Germany
4. Text of Act	The '25-point programme’ of the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers Party) of 1920 stated: ‘Only a compatriot can be a citizen of the State. A compatriot can only be a person of pure German lineage, irrespective of [religious] denomination. A Jew can therefore not be a compatriot.’
5. Source	“The Exclusion of Jewish Lawyers in Bavaria in December 1938.” Susanne Rieger. January 2003, Online article.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	2011
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	1922
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Sunday Closing Laws”
3. Geography of Act	Greece
4. Text of Act	Commentary from other sources: 1) Sunday closing laws were enacted in some communities as a means to protect non-Jews and to disadvantage Jewish merchants. AJC Global Jewish Advocacy; Anti-Semitism: An Assault on Human Rights; ajc.org
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None