The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, which promised the establishment of a Jewish National Home in Palestine, was observed last night in a number of Jewish communities throughout the United States by special meetings and conferences, including a conference in Boston at which it was decided to establish a colony in Palestine to be named “Nachlath Massachusetts.” The Balfour Declaration was issued Nov. 2,1917.
The Boston conference also pledged itself to raise funds to redeem 4,000 dunams of land in Palestine upon which the colony will be established. It also decided to subscribe $100,000 towards the $2,500,000 lean which the Jewish National Fund is now raising in the United States.
At an inter-faith meeting held in New York to commemorate the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, three speakers declared that the adequacy of the coming peace will be measured by the extent to which the Jewish problem is solved. The meeting held at B’nai Jeshurun synagogue was addressed by Bishop Francis J. McConnel Dr. Israel Goldstein and Dr. Clark Eichelberger, director of the League of Nations Association. Bishop McConnell emphasized that “vast maesses of American people favor the establishment of Palestine as a Jewish National Home.”
The anniversary of the Balfour Declaration was marked in the New York Times by a special editorial, an article on Dr. Chaim Weizmann, and a statement by Dr. J. L. Magnes. The editorial expressed the hope that an Arab-Jewish understanding would be reached, pointing out that the Jewish and the Arab peoples” have much to give to each other and the world. ” Dr. Weizmann, in the interview in the Times said that he believes that the Arab-Jewish problem can be solved “if a firm stand is taken and the Arabs are told that the Jews will be encouraged to settle in Palestine and will control their own immigration.” Dr. Magnes, in his statement, wired from Palestine, expressed regret at the fact that “the Jewish national movement and the Arab national movement are farther apart today than at any time during the past twenty-five years.” He also regretted that the Jews and the English in Palestine “are less able now than at any other time to understand one another.”
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.
