(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Emil Vandervelde, socialist and leading Belgian statesman, summarized his impressions of Palestine in an exclusive interview with the correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency here.
Before coming to Palestine, Mr. Vandervelde stated, he had read much about the Jewish colonization, but only on the spot can the difficulties be understood and the achievements in transforming the desert and swamps into flourishing colonies be appreciated. The old colonies and the new settlements impressed themselves equally upon him. He admired the great collective experiment of labor and colonization.
Tel Aviv, he declared, is a marvelous expression of the Jewish upbuilding force. Industries in Haifa and Tel Aviv are well established. The Labor Federation has obtained results, some of which the Belgian workers have not yet attained, he declared.
Zionism, with its upbuilding work and its fraternal tendencies toward the Arabs, is an important factor toward international peace, Mr. Vandervelde declared in his first lecture at the Hebrew University. For the sake of true international peace, he declared, it will be necessary to revise the Versailles Treaty.
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.
