Two reports on the current economic situation in Palestine were given Tuesday evening to members of the American Economic Committe for Palestine by Sidney Matz and Edward A. Norman, members of the body’s executive board, both of whom have recently returned from Palestine. Both stressed the economic soundness of the country and the self-reliant attitude of the inhabitants.
Mr. Norman declared the capacity of the country to support a large population seems more dependent on the people than on the land and said that the industrial opportunities are unlimited.
Mr. Matz compared the Palestine Jewish community of two years ago with that of today. “The fundamental note,” he said, “is a difference of feeling as to what existed in Palestine then and what exists now. Two years ago, except for Hebrew, which is the vernacular among Jews, the predominating language on the streets of Tel Aviv was Russian; today it is German. Two years ago Tel Aviv had 40,000 souls; today it has more than 60,000. Two years ago landlords were looking for tenants; today there are insufficient houses and people are living on the outskirts of the city in tents, waiting for homes to be prepared for them. Two years ago there was considerable unemployment; today there is a lack of labor. Two years ago was as different from today in the spirit of Tel Aviv as 2,000 years ago might have been.
“Two years ago there were a few German Jews in Palestine,” Mr. Matz continued. “They had come there for idealistic reasons. Today one finds all types of German Jews in the country. There are the well-to-do, the professional, the white collar class and the artisans. Walk along the streets of Tel Aviv and you see Mercedes automobiles with fine liveried chauffeurs and owners dressed appropriately for the grand march along the boulevards of Berlin and Munich. You see houses built in the modern German form. You see also large restaurants where before there were empty spaces. You see liveried waiters and doormen. You see all of these things and for a moment you stop and wonder whether this is Palestine or Central Europe transplanted physically into Palestine.”
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.
