Dr. Chaim Weizmann, president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, today indicated that he does not believe that Palestine will become a Jewish state immediately. He emphasized that the younger people in Palestine are certain to see the results of their work and that “a transition period of five or six years are nothing in a period such as the world is now going through.”
The Palestine-wide conference of the labor colonization group “Ha’Hityashvuth Haovedeth,” at which Dr. Weizmann delivered his address, received his speech with great applause. The conference announced that the labor colonization group is ready to absorb another 12,000 Jewish children from Europe. It also decided to inscribe Dr. Weizmann’s name in the Golden Book of the Jewish National Fund.
Devoting his talk to the subject of the near future of Palestine, Dr. Weizmann said: “How do I visualize this future? In the first place we must get rid of the White Paper chains. When this is achieved, we will have to plan a great expansion of our work. I believe that if conditions in the world do not change for the worse, and the leaders of nations, such as Churchill and Roosevelt, remain in their places, we will then proceed on the path leading to a Jewish State – maybe gradually.
“I hope,” Dr. Weizmann continued, “that we will succeed in opening the gates of Palestine to Jewish mass-immigration, but this is connected with the land problem. In a previous speech I spoke about a transition period, because I do not believe in jumps. Five or six transitional years are nothing in a period such as the world is going through, but there is hope that we will reach our great aim. In the meantime, I want to indicate several conditions that are necessary, the first of which is the unification of the creative forces within Palestine Jewry.”
The Agency president then warned against the large number of political parties within the Jewish community. “They are a result of Jewish individualism,” he said, “but this is no help in advancing in the world of the future.” He also warned against “new signs in the Yishub,” stressing that “one thing must be made clear — we are engaged in a struggle with outsiders who do not have good will, and who are using every false step to hinder our work.”
Expressing his belief in the immense possibilities for immigration and colonization in Palestine, Dr. Weizmann said: “We shall live to see unification of our forces. Let us not quarrel about petty things, let us not press for a speedy end – we have suffered for 2,000 years, let us wait another six months, another year. All of you are younger than me; you will see the results of your work. You began the holy work, you must finish it.”
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.
