“We place on record the deep sense of obligation with which the reports submitted to the National Council of the Keren Hayesod have inspired us and which have been brought home to us by the message from Dr. Chaim Weizmann and the address of our President, Mr. Samuel Untermyer, and we affirm our determination to meet them by increased effort in all our communities to the end that the resources of the Keren Hayesod in the forthcoming year may at least be doubled. We take this means of calling upon the thousands of contributors who we have the privilege to represent and upon all other Jews of America, to rise to the new level of opportunity and achievement which the development of Palestine has now attained.”
This resolution was unanimously adopted by the conference of the National Council of the Keren Hayesod at its annual meeting at the Hotel Astor on December 7th, in which three hundred delegates from all parts of the United States participated. Morris Rothenberg opened the first session.
Messages of hope and encouragement from Dr. Chaim Weizmann and Professor Albert Einstein were read at the conference.
“Palestine is the one solution for future Jewish emergencies like the one presented by the thousands of homeless and stranded Jewish refugees”, Samuel Untermyer declared in his address. “Such emergencies”, he stated, “any man of ordinary intelligence can foresee will continue to rise. Had the opportunity to rebuild Palestine been presented to the Jewish people a generation ago”, he asserted, “we would not by this time have been forced to think of the possibility of transplanting these exiles to Canada or to Mexico. They would have turned naturally to Palestine, and Palestine would have flung open its gates and pealed forth a ringing welcome to the children of the exile.”
Mr. Untermyer praised the National Council, which, because of its democratic character, made the Keren Hayesod the most American of all American Jewish public funds, he declared. He hoped that others would follow the example and not leave the Keren Hayesod in “virtuous isolation”. He described the great progress which Palestine has made in the past year which enabled immigrants to enter at a rate 100 per cent greater than the previous maximum. This progress he ascribed principally to the work of the Keren Hayesod. “For every campaign successfully conducted here”, he stated, “new farms and schools, vineyards and orchards, roads and buildings spring into existence in Palestine. The sum of $6,000,000 in cash raised by the Keren Hayesod in America”, he said, “represented increased activity in Palestine.
Owing to the increased immigration and opportunities in Palestine, Mr. Untermyer warned that the present income of the Keren Hayesod is insufficient and urged that it be increased to at least $4,000,000 a year. He referred to the labor and sacrifices of Dr. Weizmann and concluded with the statement that the victory of the Jewish Homeland movement “will mark a crowning glory of the history of our race.”
After luncheon was served to the delegates, moving pictures of the development in Palestine in recent years were shown. The pictures made an unusual impression.
Louis Marshall, who spoke directly after the showing of the film, declared that he had been deeply moved by the evidence of toil and progress which the picture had shown. He felt that the pictures were more eloquent than he could be. He saw, however, not only the great things that have been accomplished, but also the things that still remain to be accomplished. He called for more people, more schools, more villages, more forests to cover the many hillsides that were still bare. “The littoral of the Mediterranean”, he stated, “should be dotted with quais and harbors.”
Mr. Marshall then announced that the Palestine Economic Corporation, organized on a purely business basis for the purpose of extending credit for Palestine enterprises, is about to be launched with an initial capital of $3,000,000. This would provide the people of Palestine with what they need most: capital, which will enable them to get on their feet and help themselves and the country.
Mr. Marshall then referred to the immigration law which has closed the doors of America upon the homeless Jews of Europe. He felt more convinced than ever, he declared, that there is one land of opportunity for these homeless and that is Palestine. The Emergency Relief Committee, organized for the purpose of aiding the thousands of marooned Jewish refugees, of which he is one of the Chairmen, gave first consideration to Palestine as a possible home for these unfortunates.
Mr. Marshall then spoke of the Jewish Agency, the body recognized by the Palestine Mandate. He told of the visit of Dr. Weizmann last year for the purpose of bringing into this body the Jewish organizations which had hitherto not been identified with the World Zionist Organization. He predicted the success of Dr. Weizmann’s measures and demanded that the responsibility for the task of rebuilding Palestine be extended to Zionists and non-Zionists alike. He believes, he said, that the work for Palestine would have to continue for many years to come in order that the Jews might build there a land which would be a credit to the Jewish race and an inspiration to the Jewish religious spirit wherever Jews dwell. The non-Zionists, he concluded, are now ready to work with the Zionists in the realization of this ideal.
Hermann Conheim, National Treasurer of the Keren Hayesod, reported on the receipts and expenses of the Organization, showing as total receipts to December 1st, 1924 of $6,217,598.
Emanuel Neumann, National Secretary, gave an analysis in figures of the sums raised by the Fund throughout its existence in the United States. Of the more than $6,000,000 which have been raised, a third came from New York City with the Philadelphia Region, whose collections amounted to $617,000 next in order. Then followed Illinois with $460,000, New England $380,000, Connecticut $286,000, Northern New Jersey $258,000, Cleveland $213,000 and the Far West $210,000.
Nathan Straus, Dr. Shmarya Levin, Mrs. Richard Gottheil, Mr. Gedalia Bublick also addressed the conference. A resolution urging the Keren Hayesod to support only those institutions in which traditional Judaism is not violated was referred to the board of Directors.
The new Executive Committee, consisting of forty members, was elected. Mr. Samuel Untermyer is president of the Committee, Mr. Morris Rothenberg, Chairman, Rabbi Meer Berlin, vice-chairman, Mr. Conheim, treasurer and Mr. Emanuel Neuman, secretary.
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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.
