Favorable comment upon the report of the Zionist Organization, acting as the Jewish Agency, to the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations was made in a statement of Albert H. Putney, former Chief of the Near Eastern Division of the Department of State and Dean of the School of Diplomacy and Jurisprudence of the American University.
“I read with great interest the first report made by the Jewish Agency to the League of Nations regarding progress in Palestine. As I read it my thoughts went back to that other Autumn, only eight years ago, when the realization first began to arise in the minds of a handful of enthusiastic Jews, and of a still smaller handful of observant non-Jews that one of the by-products of the great European World War was to be the creation of an opportunity for the actual erection of a restored Palestine of which the Jewish race has been dreaming for more than eighteen centuries.
“It was not, however, until a year later, that is, only seven years ago, that the Balfour Declaration first awakened the great masses, both Jewish and non-Jewish, to the fact that a restored Jewish homeland in Palestine was at least a strong possibility. With this proclamation came the beginning of the real opportunity for the Zionist Organization.
“These dates should be carefully remembered: for what the Zionist Organization has accomplished in Palestine must be judged, first of all, with relation to the length of time which has elapsed since their work in Palestine began. Judged from this standard it appears to an unprejudiced outsider that they have accomplished as much as could be fairly expected by this time. The policy of the organization is one which manifestly is concerned with the laying of a solid foundation rather than with mushroom growth. With great wisdom and foresight the corner stone of the foundation has been made the ownership of the soil of Palestine.
“Perhaps the greatest ground for confidence by the Zionist Organization is the knowledge that their work is in complete harmony with the spirit of the age. It is becoming realized that, not only (Continued on Page 4)
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.
