$49,000,000 Invested by Jews in Palestine in Last Eight Years Zionist Executive States in Memorandum

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Nearly forty-nine million dollars of Jewish capital were invested in Palestine from October 1, 1917 until March 31, 1926, the eight-and a half years since Palestine was occupied by the British.

This statement was made by the Executive of the Zionist World Organization in its third memorandum on the establishment in Palestine of the Jewish National Home, submitted to the Secretary General of the League of Nations in fifty copies in English, French and Hebrew, for the information of the Permanent Mandates Commission which begins its session here tomorrow.

The memorandum of the Zionist Organization depicts the progress of the Jewish work in Palestine in the field of (1) Immigration. (2) Agricultural colonization, (3) Urban development, (4) Industry, (5) Public health, (6) education, (7) organization of the Jewish community in Palestine, (8) the Jewish Agency, and (9) finances.

83,000 JEWS SETTLED IN PALESTINE SINCE 1917

On the progress of Jewish immigration to Palestine and the present labor conditions in the country, the memorandum states:

“The number of Jews registered as immigrants by the Government of Palestine in 1925 was 33,801, as compared with 12,856 in 1924, and 7,421 in 1923. The emigration returns for 1925 show a total of 2,151 Jewish departures, made up of 666 pre-war residents and 1,485 returning immigrants. There was thus a net Jewish immigration in 1925 of 31,650. This is much the highest figure hitherto recorded for any one year and is 50 per cent. greater than the aggregate net immigration for the three years 1922, 1923 and 1924. The main stream of Jewish immigration, which formerly flowed into North and South America, is now being clearly diverted to Palestine.

“In the first quarter of 1926 there were about 5,500 Jewish immigrants, while the number of departures, in cluding both pre-war residents and returning immigrants, was about 500. These figures are provisional and subject to correction. The total number of Jews who have settled in Palestine since the British occupation up to March 31,1926 is approximately 83,000, not including about 5,000 residents who returned to their homes after the war. After allowing for recorded departures, both of pre-war residents and returning immigrants, the total net immigration (exclusive of returning residents) during the same period is approximately 71,000. The Jewish population of Palestine at the end of 1925 was estimated by the Zionist Organization at 138,000, as compared with about 55,000 at the time of the Armistice. Palestine has now a larger proportion of Jewish inhabitants than any other country.

“The 33,801 Jewish immigrants in 1925 were made up of 30,621 Ashkenasm and 3,180 Sephardim, drawn mainly from the Balkan States, Morocco, the Yemen, Kurdistan and Persia. The principal countries of origin were as follows: Poland, 16,983; Russia and Ukraine, 6,718; Roumania, 2,166; Lithuania. 1,747; Germany, 963: Turkey, 749; Bulgaria, 723; Yemen (including Aden), 579: U.S.A., 570; Latvia, 460: Austria, 423; Greece 404: Czechoslovakia. 147; United Kingdom, 137; France. 115; Iraq, 113; other countries, 804.

IMMIGRATION CATEGORIES ANALYZED

“The immigrants included 6,198 families, containing 19,740 members, or 58 per cent, of the total arrivals.

“In 1925, as in 1924, a considerable proportion of the Jewish immigrants consisted of persons belonging to what is known as the ‘independent means category.’ These are immigrants who are admitted, not to fill vacancies in the labor market, but by virtue of the possession of a prescribed amount of capital. which is ordinarily not less than £E.500. Immigrants of this type, with their dependents, formed 35 per cent, of the whole in 1925 and 41 percent in 1924, as compared with 13 percent in 1923 and 17 per cent. in 1922. The following figures give some idea of the scale on which capital has recently been brought into the country by private individuals. In the first six months of 1925 there were 7,050 immigrants of the independent means category. Among these were 2,149 as to whose means the Zionist Organization is not informed. The remaining 4,911 immigrants, of whom 1,630 were heads of families, made declarations showing that they had in their possession a total sum of £E.948,620. or approximately £E. 193 per head. Among them were 478 families with more than £E.500 apiece, and 103 well-to-do families with average capital of £E.1,650. On the assumption that the remaining 2,149 immigrants included the same proportion of heads of families, viz… about 700, and that each of these possessed no more than the ordinary minimum of £E.500, the capital brought into Palestine in six months by immigrants of this category must have amounted in the aggregate to about £E. 1,300,000. Taking the year as a whole, and allowing for a falling off in this class of immigration during the last quarter, the total amount of private capital thus introduced into Palestine in 1925 may be conservatively estimated at a total of £E200,000.

IMMIGRANTS OF INDEPENDENT MEANS AND LABORERS

“It is material to observe that while the proportion of immigrants of the independent means category has considerably increased during the past two years, there has not been a corresponding falling off in the proportion of immigrants entering as manual workers to fill vacancies in the labor market. Immigrants of this type, with their dependents, formed nearly 48 per cent, of the whole in 1925, as compared with 42 per cent. in 1924, 59 per cent, in 1923. and 40 per cent, in 1922. On the other hand, there has been a distinct decline in the proportion of immigrants entering as dependent relatives of residents in Palestine, who formed 16.9 per cent. of the whole in 1925 and 17 per cent. in 1924, as compared with 28 per cent, in 1923 and 41 per cent. in 1922. What has happened, therefore, is that the place formerly occupied by the less productive class of dependent relatives has now been taken by immigrants bringing with them in every case at least a moderate amount of capital, and–in many cases-what is more important, a spirit of enterprise and industrial or commercial experience.

THE EFFECTS OF ECONOMIC DEPRESSION IN EASTERN EUROPE

“Immigration of the independent means category reached its height in the summer of 1925. In the autumn there was a distinct falling off, and the monthly total of immigrants of this type (including dependents) was gradually reduced from 1,258 in August to 590 in October and 278 in December. This shrinkage is largely attributable to two main causes. On the one hand. it reflects the heavy losses of Jewish capital due to the deepening economic depression in Poland, from which a large proportion of the immigrants are usually drawn. On the other hand, it also reflects the coming into force in the summer of 1925 of new Immigration Regulations, which require applications for admission to Palestine from persons of the independent means category to be referred to Jerusalem in each individual case. This rule holds good even in Poland, where the Palestine Government is directly represented by a Palestine Immigration Officer attached to the British Consular Staff in Warsaw. The prolonged delay which usually intervened. especially in the early stages, between the forwarding of an application to Jerusalem and the receipt of a reply, had a discouraging effect on prospective immigrants, who were kept for many weeks in a state of suspense. Mean-while the assets which they would have to realize if they left for Palestine were steadily depreciating, owing to the depression of trade and the unfavorable course of the Polish exchange. It is understood that efforts are now being made by the Government of Palestine to dispose of these applications with greater promptitude.

MEASURES AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT

“The slowing down of immigration of this type coincided with a temporary check to the exceptional prosperity which marked the first three quarters of 1925. In the last quarter of the year there were some signs of financial stringency, which was reflected in the restriction of credit, with unfavorable effects on the labor market. Employment was also adversely affected by the interruption of building operations on account of the heavy winter rains. The number of Jewish unemployed reached its highest point in January, 1926, when it rose for a few weeks to an estimated total of about 4,600. By the middle of April this figure had been reduced to about 3,000, and the labor market was showing signs of improvement. None of the unemployed were allowed to become a charge upon public funds, and the Palestine Zionist Executive, in conjunction with the municipality of Tel-Aviv and other Jewish public bodies, took effective measures to deal with the situation, mainly by the execution of necessary capital works in advance of immediate requirements. It is material to observe that the unemployment figures were not appreciably higher at the end of February than at the end of the preceding November, though in the interval there had been over 8,000 Jewish immigrants of whom a considerable proportion were manual workers.

NO PROLONGED PERIOD OF UNEMPLOYMENT ON LARGE SCALE

“While every effort is made to regulate arrivals in strict accordance with the state of the labor market, a precise balance between demand and supply at any given moment cannot be absolutely guaranteed in the case of large bodies of immigrants travelling to Palestine from a great number of distant countries. On the other hand, while a certain ebb and flow is to be expected, it is noteworthy that, in spite of the greatly increased volume of immigration, there has been no prolonged period of unemployment on any considerable scale. It is also noteworthy that the somewhat abrupt, though temporary, contraction of credit at the end of 1925 did not produce anything in the nature of a collapse such as would almost inevitably have followed had there been any large amount of speculative over-trading. The economic structure was severely tested, and the fact that it has weathered the storm without suffering serious damage is some evidence that it is inherently sound.

“The memoranda which the Zionist Organization had the honor of submitting to the Permanent Mandates Commission in 1924 (paragraph V) and in 1925 (paragraph I) contain detailed information, which need not here be repeated, as to the machinery provided by the Zionist Organization and affiliated bodies for the selection and training of immigrants in their countries of origin, and for their reception and further training in Palestine. During 1925 additional Zionist Immigration Officers were appointed in Teheran and Helsingfors. Particulars of these appointments were submitted in the usual course to the Mandatory Power, which notified the British passport authorities concerned.”

Reporting the progress of Jewish colonization in Palestine, the Zionist Executive points to the rising of land values and, stating that during the period under review the Palestine government did nothing toward the realization of Article 4 of the Mandate, the memorandum takes up the question of Palestine state and waste land.

JEWISH LANDHOLDINGS ARE INCREASED TO 1,100,000 DUNAMS

“During 1925 the area of Jewish holdings of land in Palestine was increased from 900,000 to 1,100,000 dunams, of which the great bulk is in rural areas. One hundred and eighty-five thousand dunams, of which 140,000 dunams are in the Plain of Esdraelon and the Vale of Jezreel, are held by the Jewish National Fund, the principal land purchasing agency of the Zionist Organization, as the inalienable property of the Jewish people.

“All the land made available for Jewish colonization in 1925 has been acquired by purchase in the open market, the Government of Palestine not having found it possible to do anything in the period under review to give practical effect to that part of Article 4 of the Palestine Mandate which provides that.

” ‘The Administration of Palestine … shall encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish Agency referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.’

ZIONIST ORGANIZATION APPLIED FOR STATE LANDS FOR JEWISH COLONIZATION

“The Zionist Organization. as the Jewish Agency, has now made formal application to the Mandatory Power for an opportunity of taking over on equitable terms such State lands in the districts of Beisan and Semakh as may prove on inquiry to be available for settlement by Jews after making every provision for the requirements of the Arab cultivators. The rights of these cultivators are fully recognized, and the Zionist Organization has expressly disclaimed any desire to interfere with them. It is understood that this application is now being considered by the competent authorities.

“Land vaiues show a constant tendency to rise as the demand increases and the supply on the market is reduced. When a given area has been acquired and settled. the capital sunk by the Jews in improvements goes to increase the market value of the neighboring properties. It follows that the more land the Jews acquire and the more improvements they carry out, the higher is the level to which they are in effect raising prices against themselves, a steady stream of unearned increment being thus set flowing into the pockets of the landowners. The inflation of prices might to some extent have been checked, if the Government had been in a position to provide in the State lands an alternative source of supply. In the absence of such a check, prices are rising to a height at which the initial outlay involved in rural colonization is becoming increasingly burdensome, with the result that numbers of immigrants who have come to Palestine with the intention of starting a new life on the soil have up to the present been unable to do so.

24,000 JEWS LIVING ON THE LAND

“The total number of Jews living on the land at the end of 1925 is estimated by the Zionist Organization at 24,000, as compared with an official estimate of 23,000 in the spring of 1925, and an ascertained figure of 15,000 at the Census of October, 1922. The total number of Jewish settlements at the end of 1925 was 100, including forty-four established under the auspices of the Zionist Organization. The corresponding figures at the end of 1924 were respectively eighty and thirty-five. The area of Jewish land under plantation, as distinct from arable cultivation, increased during 1925 from 75,000 to 97,000 dunams, the principal crops being oranges, lemons, almonds, vines and olives. Among special types of immigrants who have recently been assisted to settle on the land may be mentioned two groups of Sephardic families from Bulgaria, Georgia and Turkey, and a group of Chassidic (ultra-Orthodox) Jews from Poland, headed by the Rabbis of Jablona and Kregenitz.

AGRICULTURAL TRAINING UNDER ZIONIST ORGANIZATION AUSPICES

“Under arrangements made by the Zionist Organization, twenty-six groups of immigrants with a total membership of 1,200. are receiving practical training in agriculture in various part of Palestine. In addition. similar training is being given under Zionist auspices to six groups of women, of which three have been formed during the period under review.

“In the memorandum submitted by the Zionist Organization in 1925, reference is made (paragraph IX) to the Agricultural School for Women established at Mahalal in the Vale of Jezreel by the Women’s International Ziorust Organization. The formal opening of this institution took place on April 7th, 1926. The school has already forty resident pupils. The number of applicants censiderably exceeds the available accommondation, and an extension will shortly be required.

“At the request of the Zionist Arganization, a competent Anglo-Jewish engineer. who iuts had piolonged experience in the Public Works Department of the Government of India, has visited Palestine for the purpose of drawing up a detailed programme of drainage and irrigation scheme for the Plain of Esdracion and the Vale of Jezreel is now on the point of completion, and it is hoped to carry it into effect in the immediate future.

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

“The Agricultural Experiment Station maintained by the Zionist Organization at Dagania (Jordan Valley) has been closed after four years’ work, and replaced by a new station at Jabatta (Plain of Esdraelon). The Jabatta Station occupies an area of 1,200 dunams near the settlement of Nahalal. The cost of maintenance is divided between the Keren Hayesod (Palestine Foundation Fund) and Baron de Rothschild of Vienna. Like the Experiment Station and Ben Shemen, which remains at work, the Jabatta Station is a branch of the Zionist Agricultural Institute at Tel-Aviv.

“In the year ending September 30, 1925, £E. 125,000 were provided for agricultural colonization by the Keren Hayesod. and a further LE.£107,000, making a total of £232,000, in the three months. £E.300,000 were expended during approximately the same period by the Jewish National Fund on the purchase and amelioration of rural land, making a total Zionist expenditure in the fifteen months ending December 31st. 1925, of £E.532,000. This is excusive of substantial sums, of which reliable figures cannot at present be furnished, invested in various agricultural undertakings, both by individual setters and by the American Zion Commonwealth and other bodies operating under Zionist auspices,” the memorandum declares.