Floating of a “war loan” of $5,000,000 to redeem 1,000,000 dunams of land in Palestine was proposed last night by Dr. Chaim Weizmann, president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, speaking at a dinner here in his honor under the auspices of the Jewish National Fund. Touching upon the tense political and military situation in the Middle East, Dr. Weizmann stated that in spite of temporary setbacks “we must have faith in victory. The spirit of Jerusalem will triumph over the forces of evil.”
Outlining the long sufferings of the Jewish people, the world Zionist leader expressed confidence that “a democratic victory is indissolubly bound up with adherence to a higher international morality and justice to the Jewish people. A Jewish National Homeland in Palestine must result from this victory, for this is the only answer and atonement that the Christian world can give to the Jewish people.”
Discussing Jewish achievements in Palestine, Dr. Weizmann emphasized that there are today 550,000 Jews in Palestine as compared with the 57,000 that were there in 1919. Today there are 265 agricultural colonies in comparison with 44 in 1919, and JNF land holdings are now 600,000 dunams as compared with 16,000 at the close of the last war. He stated that over a half billion dollars of Jewish capital has been invested in Palestine in the past two decades, including $125,000,000 contributed over this period by the Jews of the world. Senator Alben Barkley, Senate majority leader, also spoke at the dinner.
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.
