An appeal to the Jews of America to raise funds for the redemption of land in Palestine will be made in houses of worship throughout the nation on December 9, the Jewish National Fund announced yesterday.
The date chosen for this appeal is the Sabbath of Chanukah, commemorating the 2,099th anniversary of the victory of the Maccabees over ancient Greece.
The Union of Orthodox Rabbis in the United States and Canada has issued an edict in connection with the campaign which states: “It is fitting and appropriate that when we gather in the houses of worship to commemorate the Maccabean victory of right over might and recall the redemption of yore, we dedicate our thought and acts toward the urgent duty of soil redemption at this hour.”
The announcement of the Jewish National Fund asserts that the needs of the large numbers of Jewish immigrants, “including many thousands of exiles from Germany,” must be accommodated.
The edict of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis, signed by Rabbi Joseph Kanvitz, president, points out that shortage of available land “threatens to check our further progress.”
“Give us land!” the statement continues. “Land for barracks, land for houses, land for industrial plants, land for agricultural settlements, for synagogues and for community institutions!
“Land is the crying need of our people in Palestine, and more particularly of those of our brethren in the Diaspora who stand at the gates of our homeland and wait impatiently for their opportunity to enter.”
The land is declared to constitute “the very foundation of our upbuilding work.”
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.
