Poland Watches Jewish Colonization Work in Russia; Report Submitted

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency Mail Service)

The Jewish colonization work in Russia was the subject of a discussion which has been held at the Polish Institute for the Study of the Problems of the National Minorities. The representative of the Polish Government to the Jewish Colonization Conference held in Moscow last month, M. Alexander Haftke, submitted a report on the subject. He traced the history of the Jewish colonization movements in Russia and Poland, and described the achievements which have already been made in South Russia. It was his opinion that it was the intention of the Soviet Government to enable Jews not only in Soviet Russia but from other countries also to settle on the land in South Russia.

Former Minister of Education. Prof. Sujkowski, who resigned because of the adverse vote of the Club of Jewish Deputies, took part in the discussion. He felt, he said, that a people which has been separated from the soil for over two thousand years is not able to carry through successfully such a big experiment as that which is now being made in South Russia. The Jews are competent in agriculture, but it is essential to make a very careful selection of the individuals who are to be settled on the land, a selection similar to that which is being made in the Chaluzim movement. The tremendous enthusiasm of the Chaluzim, Prof. Sujkowski said, had convinced him of the possibility of a systematic Jewish agricultural colonization work.