Adding his support to the appeal issued by the Jewish Agency for Palestine, Felix M. Warburg, distinguished communal leader and philanthropist, and Honorary Chairman of the American Palestine Campaign, today issued a statement reviewing Jewish accomplishments in Palestine and emphasizing the importance of obtaining financial support in this country for the Jewish Agency through the immediate organization of American Palestine Campaigns throughout the United States.
Jewish leaders in each community have been called upon by Jewish Agency leaders to launch fund-raising efforts; and their attention has been directed to the fact that the Palestine Foundation Fund is the sole financial instrument of the Jewish Agency. Zionists and non-Zionists alike are called upon to give “primacy and priority” to the campaign of the Keren Hayesod, insofar as Palestine funds are concerned.
Referring to the frequent reports of “prosperity” in Palestine, which is used as a pretext in some quarters to delay fund-raising for Palestine, Mr. Warburg points out that “what is called prosperity in Palestine means nothing more today than the ability to earn an extremely moderate subsistence.”
Mr. Warburg’s statement, which is expected to galvanize many communities into action for the American Palestine Campaign, reads in part, as follows:
“The reports emanating from Palestine speak of a minimum of unemployment and a maximum of healthy, normal progress. This scene is in striking contrast to the Jewish situation in many countries of Europe, where unreason and blind hate seem to have gained temporary sway. It must be kept in mind, however, that what is called prosperity in Palestine means nothing more today than the ability to earn an extremely moderate subsistence. For the Jewish pioneers have no dreams of wealth and ease. They are content that their hard toil permits them to have a place in the land which has brought them a new outlook and a new inner life. With their magnificent spirit, they can transform into luxury conditions which, to us, would seem bleak and hard. But they are compensated in peace of mind and freedom of action for lack of physical comforts.
“We are working towards the end of receiving a larger number of certificates for admission to Palestine, but fulfilment and the looking after the newcomers is dependent to a great extent on the response which our campaign here and elsewhere receives.
“The Jewish Agency, established with the consent of the League of Nations, is accepted by the latter as the supreme body of the Jewish people and the Agency cannot possibly maintain its activities of immigration, colonization, education and sanitation unless it receives the full-hearted cooperation of those who are interested in Palestine.
“At a time when social ideals seem at a low ebb, when economic chaos and political confusion prevail, it is a source of constant inspiration to the Jewish people, as it should be to the world at large, to observe what high idealism and unselfish devotion can accomplish. Palestine, with its approximately two hundred thousand Jews; is today an impressive social laboratory, where faith in the future is the predominant characteristic of the people. Before our very eyes we witness the evolution of a new generation of men and women, who, proud of their Jewishness and eager to serve mankind, have the opportunity for the expression of the finest in the human soul. We might well regard what we are doing in Palestine as an investment in the social stability of the world as well as of the Jewish people.”
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.
