It is difficult to understand why the Palestine Jewish delegation which is now on a mission in Poland to select Jewish farm hands for Palestine, has chosen as candidates such Jewish peasants as possess their own land in Poland.
When moving Jews from Poland to Palestine or any other country, the logical principle to follow would be to give the poorer portion of the Jewish population the opportunity of emigration and not those who still have something to exist on.
In the case of the first group of Jewish farmers who were selected by the Palestine delegation from the Jewish colonists in Volhynia, this principle seems not to have been observed. Mr. Zitkov, the delegate from Palestine, preferred to choose Jewish peasants in Volhynia who own land, rather than farmhands who are only laborers.
A FALSE PATH
The path which Mr. Zitkov has followed is especially surprising considering that he is a delegate from the Palestine Laborites. True as it may be that certain elements in Palestine would like to have workers on their plantations, people who are not real proletarians, the Laborites in Palestine do not by any means belong to those elements.
It is possible that Mr. Zitkov was motivated in his selection more by the interests of Palestine than by the interests of Polish Jewry. In this case, injustice is done to the really poor Jewish population of Poland. If the principle of giving preference in emigration to those who have no prospects of earning a livelihood in Poland is not observed, then the Jewish community of Poland will grow poorer and poorer while the richer elements of the Jewish population there will gradually leave the country.
PLANNED EMIGRATION REQUIRED
The Jewish situation in Poland today requires planned emigration. If anyone is to be given assistance to leave the country, whether for Palestine or any other land, it is first of all the youth, that has no farmer and no prospects of work—the youth that is being trained and adjusted by the ORT, by the Hehalutz and by other organizations, to farm work and artisanship.
The removal of Jews from Poland should be considered a Jewish national duty, from which the impoverished elements are to benefit before those whostill have means to remain at home. Jewish farmers in Volhynia or any other part of Poland, who still possess land su### to provide bread for them, should not be touched, no matter how valuable their experience in farm work may be to Palestine. Instead of them the poorer elements among the Jewish land-workers in Poland—those who have nothing to leave behind them—should be considered.
SOCIAL JUSTICE ESSENTIAL
It is difficult to judge from a distance why the first group of Jewish farmers to be taken from Poland to Palestine happens to consist of landowners. We hope that social justice will be practiced in the future when selecting other groups of Jewish farm-hands for Palestine. Let the poor Jews be helped to find ther way from Poland to other lands. The richer elements will find their way themselves.
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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.
