Jewish Colonization Association Announces Plans for 1956 Activities

Sir Henry d’Avigdor Goldsmid, a Member of Parliament, was today re-elected president of the Jewish Colonization Association at the first 1956 meeting of the group’s administrative council here. Elected as vice-president at the same time were Rene Mayer, of France and Max Gottschalk, of Belgium. The Council meeting also approved the annual budget for the Association’s overseas establishments.

Included in the projects in the approved budget we reprograms in Argentina, North Africa, Israel, Canada, Latin America and Australia. The Argentinian program includes grants to the sons of settlers for farms of their own, enlargement of existing farms, grants for the upkeep of schools in the JCA colonies and other measures aimed at stabilizing the life of the colonies. For Israel, the budget provides continued assistance to existing settlements and the establishment of new ones in the Lachish area. The budget also provides for continued assistance to a number of Israeli institutions–including Youth Aliyah and the Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University.

In Canada, the JCA will continue to make grants for the purchase of farms by Jewish farmers and loan scheme for Jewish farmers who have had success in operating farms they purchased themselves. The North African program adopted envisages the extension of an artisans loan bank scheme. At the same time, it was noted that an agricultural training scheme carried out in Morocco in conjunction with the Alliance Israelite Universelle continued satisfactory operation, as did an economic rehabilitation program which JCA shares with the Joint Distribution Committee.

The organization also cooperates with the JDC in the creation and operation of loan banks in Latin America and Australia for new immigrants from Europe, and further work in this field is planned. In addition, the JCA will maintain its long-standing interest in vocational training on a somewhat larger scale, particularly through the supply of equipment for ORT schools in Israel and North Africa. Among miscellaneous grants approved is a contribution to the re-housing of Jewish families which-lost their homes in Volos. Greece, last year when that city was struck by an earthquake.