Between the Lines

Those who would have a clear conception of the possibilities of Jewish colonization in Biro-Bidjan, should see the first Yiddish talkie from the Bureya now being shown in a number of theatres in New York.

The picture as shown is reminiscent of the early pioneer days in America. The wagon-loads of Jewish settlers resemble the American “covered wagon” period. The difficulties which the first groups of Jewish settlers faced in Biro-Bidjan are fully exposed on the screen.

IMPRESSIVE FUTURE

These difficulties, however, seem now to a certain extent to be a thing of the past. Looking at the modern buildings which have sprung up in the newly built city of Biro-Bidjan, and at the rows of smaller buildings in the colonies, one cannot but feel that the hardships faced by the early settlers in that region several years ago are gradually disappearing.

But what impresses one most in the Biro-Bidjan film is the natural richness of the territory. Seeing is believing, and when one sees with his own eyes on the screen the rich cornfields, the abundant timber lands, the many tons of salmon caught in the rivers there, one can have no doubt about the great future of this territory.

A SELF-SUPPORTING REGION

The Biro-Bidjan region as depicted on the screen seems to have all the natural resources necessary for the normal development of a country. It has its own bread, its own meat, its own fish, its own material for building houses and for making furniture, plenty of water, unlimited treasures of ore and many as yet undeveloped mineral resources. All this is good not only for local consumption but also for export. All this makes Biro-Bidjan self-supporting.

The picture does not hide the existence of wild animals and mosquitoes in the territory. One sees, however, that the mosquitoes, about which much has been written, do not in the least prevent the adults from working in the fields with heads and bodies exposed. Similarly these mosquitoes seem to bother the children very little. They are shown on the screen barefoot, doing their lessons in the schoolyard quite unprotected from flies and insects.

FIT FOR POLISH JEWS

To American Jews, the picture of Biro-Bidjan gives a clear idea not only of how the Jewish settlers have adjusted themselves there now, but also of what Polish and other Jews will find in this Soviet territory when they are admitted into it. After seeing this film, no doubt remains that the Biro-Bidjan territory, which the Soviet government promises eventually to turn into an autonomous Jewish republic, is something in which the Jews from all over the world ought to take a serious interest.

The Jewish press from Poland which arrived here this week, carries a great deal of discussion about the future of those Polish Jews who are to be admitted to Biro-Bidjan, and a view is expressed in this connection by Rabbi Nissenbaum, in an article which he publishes in the Moment, a Warsaw Jewish daily.

A RABBI SPEAKS

The rabbi who is an orthodox Zionist leader, expresses the following novel attitude toward the settlement of Jews in Biro-Bidjan:

“As a Zionist and as an orthodox rabbi,” he says, “I should have naturally opposed the settlement of Jews in this Soviet territory. Nevertheless, not only am I not opposed to Biro-Bidjan, but I should like to see it settled by as many Jews as possible. The reason is simple. Whereas in Soviet Russia, where religion is disappearing, Jews are becoming more and more assimilated, such a process of assimilation cannot take place in Biro-Bidjan if Jews are settled there in compact masses and if Jewish culture is maintained there. The Jews of Russia will not be lost to world Jewry if they are concentrated in a Jewish republic in Biro-Bidjan.”

HEALTHY VIEWPOINT

This viewpoint, expressed by a prominent spiritual leader of Polish Jewry, is very significant and will be accepted by many Jews throughout the world, and especially in America. The question that has not been clear to the mind of the American Jew is whether Biro-Bidjan has sufficient economic possibilities for Jewish settlement. This question is now answered in the affirmative by the moving picture on Biro-Bidjan, which every American Jew should see.