two years, the educational system has been weakened. The Executive has occupied itself with statutes and paragraphs but not with education. The future of Zionism depends on national education in Palestine schools, he said.
That the Executive has treated education as a step-child was the contention of Madam Schoschana Persitz of Tel Aviv, who said that the Executive has given hardly any support to Hebrew culture in Palestine. Clear regulations to govern the various school systems must be evolved in order to prevent party conflicts, she pleaded.
WANTS YEMENITE ORPHANS REARED IN PALESTINE
The bringing of Yemenite Jewish orphans to Palestine to be reared there was demanded by the Yemenite workmen’s delegate, Chaim Badichi. “We are losing thousand of Jewish children annually,” he said, “because of the lack of educational facilities. Yemenite orphans who are threatened with compulsory conversion to Islam in their native country should be brought to Palestine and reared there.” He charged the Executive with failure to fulfill its obligations toward the Yemenites in Palestine, not giving them the budget authorized by the last Congress. “Come to Palestine and see the unfortunate situation of the Yemenites,” he pleaded.
EXECUTIVE AGAIN UNDER FIRE AS GENERAL DEBATE PROCEEDS
The Zionist Executive continued to be under fire as the general debate along economic and colonization lines was resumed. The Labor delegate Baratz, representing the Hitachduth party, criticized the Executive, stating that it did less to meet labor’s demands than the Rothschild administration, “although,” he said, “we did not demand the impossible. All we demanded was the consolidation of the unfinished farm units. The Yemenites were neglected, although they are without a means of livelihood. The Executive had no influence on the settlers, as was manifested in the Petach Tikvah class struggle.
“For twenty-five years we have been demanding the employment of Jewish labor in the colonies, and today the number of Jewish workers in the orange belt is but small. As a result of this, there is disappointment and desperation among the Zionist parties,” he said.
David Remez, Poale Zion spokesman, polemized with Harry Sacher. “The Executive,” he said, “permitted the Solel Boneh, the most important Jewish enterprise in Palestine, to go on the rocks. It refused to give it the credit approved by the Congress.”
The speaker was sharp in his criticism of the Palestine government. “The government pretends that it has not enough funds for important work in behalf of the country, but it has sufficient money for the payment of the Ottoman debt. The government deports innocent residents. One illustration will suffice. In a certain case, we asked Mr. Sacher to intervene, but the High Commissioner confirmed the deportation order. Then, Mr. Sacher refused to intervene with the Colonial office. We then intervened ourselves, and the Colonial Office withdrew the deportation order. When deportation orders may be issued at the instigation of the police, not one of us is safe,” he exclaimed.
The session assumed a stormy character when the speaker proceeded to attack Mr. Sacher because he vetoed the purchase by the Jewish National Fund of new land areas. There were cries in the hall of “Crime!” “Discredit!” “Bad management!”
NO MAJORITY AT PRESENT PACE OF COLONIZATION
That there will not be a Jewish majority in Palestine if the colonization proceeds at the present pace was the argument of Engineer Soskin, Zionist Revisionist and champion of an intensive colonization plan. It is necessary, he said, to adopt the colonization to a more speedy tempo, providing for as great increase of Jewish settlers as is possible. Under Sacher’s plan of irrigated wheat raising, this will be impossible, since at least an area of 250 dunams will be needed for each family. This will also arise the value of land. Orange plantations do not offer the solution, since only capitalists may engage in this colonization method, he said, advocating his own colonization plan, which should be carried out on the basis of a guaranteed large loan under the auspices of the Colonial Office, as was done in other British colonies. Under the plan, 13,000 families are to be settled within a period of 7 years. The land is to be prepared systematically and rentable farm units are to be offered to the settlers. Zionist colonization in Palestine may be carried on only with secured financial means as befits a political movement like Zionism, but not through collections and “Schnorrerei’ a la Joint Distribution Committee,” he said.
Analyzing the new proposed budget, the speaker said that virtually only £375,000 will be available for agricultural colonization, which means that only 250 families may be settled on the land in one year. “This plan the Revisionists cannot accept, since with such a slow tempo there will never be a Jewish majority in Palestine.”
Salman Schocken of Germany, in criticizing the Executive, declared: “Up to the present we had in Palestine financial experts, no colonization experts. The Executive has to face two fundamental problems; economic assurance and the Agency extension, but the Executive was not persistent enough for securing economic assurance. Private persons may experiment, but a community cannot afford experimentation. The fourth Alijah was a great national achievement, but in Palestine private and cooperative settlements were confused, which forms a great danger if the latter fails.
“The Agency has tremendous possibilities. Not since Herzl have such possibilities been seen. Therefore, the German Zionists are determined to support the Agency.”
Dr. Emil Schmorak of Eastern Galicia, speaking on behalf of the General Zionists, expressed satisfaction with the Palestine Zionist Executive because it systematically and skillfully created order. It consolidated the work and raised the authority of the Executive, which is important in the relations with the Arab world. The careful handling of the funds improved the outlook for the collection of more funds, he said. The speaker appealed to the Congress to elect an Executive which will be able to manage the affairs. He criticised the lack of a colonization plan now with ten years colonization experience. This plan will be more greatly needed after the Agency is created. The creation of economic and financial conditions for a systematic, extensive colonization is urgent. The present cost of £1,200 to £1,600 for the settlement of a family on the land, makes large colonization impossible. Therefore, credit institutions are urgently needed, he said.
SACHER AGAIN MAKES SPIRITED REPLY
Amidst repeated, bitter interruptions from the Left benches, Harry Sacher, in a spirited reply, which lasted one and a half hours, proceeded to answer point by point the critics who spoke at the afternoon session.
In a defiant speech, he closed with the statement: “When this Executive has gone, its full value will be appreciated. It is too much to expect human nature to judge fairly. The Executive is being buried while another is born. When you go home and have time to consider, you will realize what this ‘Verdammte’ Executive has done,” he said.
Answering Mr. Baratz, who said that the Executive treated the settlers the same as the Rothschild’s administrations, Mr. Sacher said that the colonists were too long accustomed to regarding the colonization directors as comrades. “We are not members of any party; we judge each question from the Zionistic point of view only and we are confident that the settlers found that we appreciated their problems. We have not the money to fulfill all of our predecessor’s commitments. An Executive having limited money must choose between the problems presenting themselves. In our choice we had the general interests of Zionism. Every man is free to judge as to whether we acted wisely, but none will say that ours was a party choice. We have been accused of not making peace between the planters and the workers, but Mr. Baratz admitted that the conflict was twenty-five years old. Why expect us to do (Continued on Page 8)
in two years what has not been done in twenty-three years?
“The problem of the laborers in the colonies is desperate. We aim to do the same things as you, but it will take a long time before a satisfactory solution is found. But I can say that the colonists listen to us with some understanding because we are not a party Executive.”
LEFT WING INTERRUPTS DEFENSE
The Left Wing became restive under Sacher’s references to contracts between the Executive and settlers in the Keren Hayesod colonies. They insisted that he preserved the autonomy of the Kvutzoth against the wishes of the Histadruth, reserving for the Kvutzoth the right to deal directly with the Executive without the Nir, the settler’s association, as the third party.
“The autonomy of the workers was maintained when they were allowed to decide for themselves whether to join the Nir or not,” shouted Berl Locker. Another storm was precipitated when Mr. Sacher referred to the Solel Boneh. The Left characterized his remarks as provocative, to which he replied. “I know the Solel Bonch is the sore point for David Remez.” The storm was silenced by the applause of the Center. Sacher continued to discuss the differences between the responsibility of the Executive and the groups outside of the Executive, meaning the Histadruth, saying, “It is the duty of the Executive to review all plans which outside groups submit. Sometimes it is necessary to confer with the government. For the first time in Jewish history, the Palestine government helped Jewish employment substantially, and we made it possible.”
With regard to the Wailing Wall situation, Mr. Sacher said that the Yishub did not take into account all of the dangers and the possibilities. “Recently, we attempted to place the whole question on a better basis. We achieved something, but are in the midst of the affair. It is very easy to criticize the Executive, but it is very difficult for the Executive to make a full report at the present stage.”
Concerning deportations, Mr. Sacher warned against going over the head of the High Commissioner, not on matters of principle, but on the question of individuals. Defending the veto of the Keren Kayemeth purchases, Mr. Sacher said that it is the duty of the Executive to exercise a veto as long as the constitution provides it. “I did not make this constitution,” he stated.
Admitting Mr. Goldmann’s charge of the Executive’s “splendid isolation” policy with regard to the Yishub, Mr. Sacher reminded the Congress that the entire Palestine delegation at Basle voted against this Executive which, arriving in Palestine, found the entire Yishub hostile, none daring to say one word in its favor. “Is it not due to the fact that there has been a change of attitude towards the Executive, that a great number in Palestine speak differently of the Executive now than two years ago?” Mr. Sacher exclaimed, perorating, “Could you say of our predecessors that their reputations stood higher towards the end of their tern than at the beginning? We claim it for ourselves.”
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.
