Newspapers today published, with favorable comment, a manifesto supporting a plan for Jewish settlement in the Kimberley region of Australia, signed by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, university professors, judges, industrialists, politicians, religious leaders and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. The Federal Government, however, is still opposed to the principle of mass settlement, it was stated by Minister of Interior H.S. Foll at Canberra.
The manifesto appealed for support of Dr. Isaac N. Steinberg, head of the Freiland League for Territorial Colonization, Which is advocating the scheme, on the grounds that such colonization would be in the interests of Australia and general humanity.
“Settlement of empty North Australia is a necessary duty, ” the statement said. “We consider Jewish communities in Europe, bereft of hope, as the most likely to have the courage and optimism to overcome the difficulties involved.”
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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.
