Digest of World Press Opinion

Elias Ginsburg, in an article in Our Voice, official organ of American Zionist Revisionists, writing on the Biro-Bidjan propaganda, says:

The Biro – Bidjan propaganda will work. It will do incalculable damage to you and to others. It will detract and divert the minds of multitudes of Jews, not necessarily from Palestine to Biro-Bidjan, but from Zionism to Sovietism, from Herzlianism to Leninism.

The hundreds of thousands of starving Jews in Poland and other East European and Central European countries and the hundreds of thousands of others relentlessly pushed to the brink of starvation will hold up a mental scale before them. On one side they will place your promise to the Jews and what you have done in the last fifteen years to make it good and on the other they will place the Soviet promise of Biro-Bidjan and its apparent readiness to keep it unqualifiedly. The external difficulties will not matter psychologically and will not impair the force of the propaganda so long as the intrinsic honesty of the promise will not be subject to challenge.

And thus the scale will appear to weigh down in favor of the Soviet not only in the eyes of the Polish, Rumanian and other distracted and directly affected Jews but even in the eyes of the Jews in other parts of the world who feel for their suffering brethren.

AFFORESTATION WORK IN PALESTINE

Karnenu, the official organ of the Jewish National Fund, writing on the a forestation work in Palestine, says:

Of the trees used for a forestation in Palestine both by the Jewish National Fund and the government, the pine is one of the foremost, if not the principal in importance. The choice of this tree is not due to mere chance but the practical and direct outcome of actual a forestation work carried on during the past fifteen years. Originally both mountainous regions and valleys were considered a forestation areas, the latter especially so where water gathers and creates swamps.

The purpose of the planting of the eucalyptus tree was to dry up the swamps. This same eucalyptus tree was utilized by Jewish farmers in the planting of woods and forests in soil which could not be utilized for either field or vineyard. This idea was prevalent not only amongst the experts during the draining operations at Hedera and Petah Tikwa about forty years ago but also among those who were concerned with colonization after the British conquest of Palestine.

As though designated for this purpose, groves of eucalyptus were planted by the Jewish National Fund in Beer Tobia and Merhavia in low and wet soil; in Kinnereth, on the banks of the Jordan and at the outlet of the Lake towards Judea.

AN ANALYSIS OF ZIONISM

The Richmond Herald, a daily publication, writing on “Palestine and the British Empire,” declares:

Zionism is no new movement. Various attempts had been made to rebuild Zion in various parts of the world, but they failed because these countries had no attraction for Jews. The Zionist leaders had realized that they must find some country where the Jews can live securely and proudly, and Palestine is the only country where that can be.

To the question how you are to settle 16,000,000 Jews in a country not so large as Belgium, which has a population half that size in spite of its industrial development, the Zionists answer that they expect to extend their activities over the surrounding areas, such as Egypt and Transjordania. For the British Empire Palestine is important as a stronghold and a crossing point between West and East. Zionism offers the Empire its help and friendship, and asks for assistance in return. It asks for nonfinancial help, merely moral support, and it will give the Empire a market. The Arabs have nothing to lose. The whole of the Near East is poor, without literature and without public institutions. The Jews would bring in capital and brains. By handing over Palestine to the Zionists Britain will not be depriving the Arabs of their living.

REFORMATION OF ZIONIST CONGRESS

The question of reforming the Zionist Congress is again brought to the public mind by the Zionist leader, Dr. Emil Schmarak, in an article in Die Zionistische Woche of Lemberg.

It should not be forgotten, Dr. Schmarak declares, that the machinery of the Congress devised thirty-seven years ago by Herzl, which had of course served its purpose as a world tribune and as an important propaganda organ at the time, was no longer suitable for the tasks they had before them now.

It is undesirable for Palestine to send too large a number of delegates to the Congress. Such a privilege might have been necessary when the Yishub was very small. It was then necessary that a larger Palestine delegation should attend the Congress so as to exercise a moral influence. Now, however, the position was changed. It might become very harmful if, say, 300,000 should send to the Congress as many delegates as the whole of the Jewish people in the Diaspora.

BOMBAY JEWS EXPRESS SYMPATHY FOR YEMENITES

The Jewish Tribune of Bombay, India, protesting against the exclusion of Yemenite Jews from Aden, writes:

We beg to protest against the recent policy of the government in respect to Yemenite Jews desiring to come to Aden, which is callous as it is uncalled for. We feel considerable sympathy with our Yemenite brethren many of whom come from conditions of intolerance if not actual persecution. If we do not feel that sympathy we might justifiably be characterized as callous and we invoke the Government’s sympathy in their behalf.

The Jew is compelled to leave his country by circumstances forced upon him and he should be the object of compassion, mercy, kindliness and sympathy because he is the victim of circumstances over which he has no control. If people of all other nationalities are allowed to come to Aden without let or hindrance we see no reason why the door of refuge which Aden means to many Yemenite Jews should be barred and bolted against them except that the Jew is powerless; he is a wanderer; he is homeless. This restriction is stringent and causes undue hardship and is not in harmony with the traditions of British humanity, kindliness and fair play.