After the Zionist Elections With the elections of delegates to the next Zionist Congress over in America, the eyes of all those interested in Zionist problems will be turned this week toward the convention of the American Zionist Organization in Atlantic City.
This convention will be of especial importance because of the split in the ranks of the World Organization of General Zionists and also because of the political prospects in Palestine.
In view of the fact that the Zionists in America will come with a larger delegation to the World Zionist Congress this year, the convention in Atlantic City would do well to reach clear decisions on the following problems to be faced by the Congress in Lucerne:
1. Unity in Zionist ranks. The Zionist movement cannot afford to lose the 200,000 Revisionists and their sympathizers as well as the other groups which are still in the Zionist Organization but constantly threatening to leave it. To bring about peace between the different Zionist groups is therefore of first and foremost importance.
DANGERS TO COMBAT
2. The Legislative Council. The danger which the establishment of a Legislative Council in Palestine holds for Jewish achievement there is not disputed by any Jewish group. Concrete measures to prevent this danger are therefore essential.
3. Land speculation. The menace of land speculation in Palestine has been established by all. Energetic measures to combat this menace must be decided upon.
4. The much feared crisis. Everybody in Palestine speaks of the inevitable economic crisis which must follow the present boom. A plan must be mapped out, if not to prevent this crisis, at least to ease its effects.
5. The situation of the middle class. The majority of the members of the Zionist Organization the world over belong to the middle class. While prosperity is now being enjoyed in Palestine by capitalists and by labor, the middle class there is already suffering economic difficulties. The interests of the middle class must become the interests of the Zionist Organization.
NEW MARKETS FOR PALESTINE
6. Palestine Exports. The problem of creating new markets for Palestine products is causing a great deal of worry to Palestine industrialists and owners of orange plantations. How to secure such markets is one of the serious problems demanding a solution.
7. Barter with Nazi Germany. A clear-cut decision must be adopted on the shameful commercial dealings now going on between Palestine and Nazi Germany. Palestine is today the only country where German goods are imported and sold by Jews. This breach in the Jewish united front against Germany must be forcefully condemned.
8. Jewish Officials. The problem of the marked decrease in Jewish officials in the Palestine government system must be given serious consideration. While the number of Arab officials in the government offices in Palestine is constantly growing, Jews are leaving government positions because of the desire to earn more money in private enterprises. At present the government offices in Palestine are practically “Judenrein,” and the Palestine government cannot be blamed for this.
DEMANDS TO BE PRESSED
9. Immigration and Transjordan. The significance of these two problems are clear to everybody, except to the Palestine government. To make the Mandatory Power accept the Jewish view on these problems is one of the basic needs of the Zionist movement.
10. Jewish Education. While the Palestine government fully maintains the Arab school system in the country, it refuses to do the same for the Jewish school system, despite the fact that the government derives its income mainly from Jewish sources. To force the Palestine government to accord equal treatment to Jewish education is a question which must be dealt with seriously.
The problem of the Jewish workers’ deserting the Jewish fields is also deserving of serious discussion. Also the problem of the relations between the Zionists and the non-Zionists. The Zionist convention in Atlantic City must formulate a clear-cut policy on all the problems enumerated.
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.
