A ten-year plan for the Jewish National Fund to purchase and improve some 750,000 acres of land in Palestine for the resettlement of 100,000 families was proposed here today at the opening session of a three-day leaders conference of the American J.N.F. The proposal, which would involve the expenditure of at least $880,000,000, will be discussed in detail at the Sunday session of the parley.
The conference was convened to consider the most effective methods for implementing the U.N. decision on Palestine. The more than 700 delegates from various Zionist groups in 1,000 communities in the U.S. will study the investment program which envisions progressive expenditures over a ten-year period. The Sunday meeting will feature Tel Aviv Mayor Israel Rokach, Palestine agricultural expert Abraham Harzfeld and Dr. Jorge Garcia-Granados, leading figure at the U.N. Palestine, discussions and former Guatemalan member on UNSCOP.
The plan, formulated in Jerusalem after consultation with outstanding agricultural and urban colonization experts, was outlined in a cable from Dr. Abraham Granovsky, head of the J.N.F. Dr. Granovsky pointed out that the plan calls for a minimum of seven-and-a-half acres land for each family settled on the land. He added that only 25,000 acres of cultivable land will be available to the Jewish state after partition, and that the remainder will have to be purchased.
Breaking down the overall estimate of $880,000,000, the J.N.F. head said that $400,000,000 will be required to purchase rural lands, $60,000,000 for the purchase of some 12,500 acres of urban land and $20,000,000 will be needed for land for special purposes. In addition, Dr. Granovsky revealed about $400,000,000 will be needed for the reclamation, improvement and general development of the land before it can be used as productive soil.
It was also disclosed at the parley that the J.N.F. has established 330 colonies and agricultural settlements on nearly 250,000 acres of land acquired by the organization.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
