A plea for help in rebuilding the cultural and health institutions of the Jewish farmers in Bessarabia, who have suffered considerably in recent years due to bad crops, has reached the office of the United Jewish Campaign through the Joint Distribution Committee office in Berlin.
The Jewish colonies in Bessarabia, which prior to the war was Russian territory, were considered among the best established by Russian Jews in the last century. During the war, however, and the changes of government, the colonies went through a period of great depression, and the crop failures of recent years have affected not only the farmers but also the traders and artisans who are economically dependent on the colonies. The work of the Joint Distribution Committee, and later that of the Joint-Ica Foundation, have in a large measure reconstructed the economic life of the Jewish farmers. They are however, not yet in a position to take care of hospitals, bathhouses and schools and the situation in the colonies, according to the memorandum submitted, is such that for the next year or two at least, the establishment and maintenance of such institutions will depend entirely on Joint Distribution Committee support.
During the visit of Dr. Bernard Kahn to Bessarabia. the colonies presented their needs, which include the establishment of bathhouses, schools for the Jewish children, physicians in the smaller colonies, medicine relief and libraries.
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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.
