Einstein Urges Jews Think of Other Lands

portant that Palestine should absorb as many as possible of the Jews who leave Germany in so far as they can be of use in this reconstruction.

THE DANGER

“On the other hand, however,” he warned, “great care must be taken lest a too great and too sudden stream of immigration lead to an economic crisis, as was the case with the forced immigration of Polish Jews a few years ago. It seems to me, therefore, to be absolutely essential under the present circumstances, to take other areas of colonization into consideration in addition to Palestine.

“Such areas would have to have a sufficiently wide agricultural basis and be capable of absorbing considerable numbers of new immigrants. I am thinking, in the first place, of areas in the neighborhood of Palestine, such as Syria and the Turkish districts to the north.”

Referring to the position of the Jewish refugees from Germany, the celebrated scientist, himself a refugee, voiced his appreciation of the assistance given by the nations of Europe.

“We are greatly indebted to the countries bordering on Germany for the readiness with which they gave provisional refuge to a large number of Jewish political refugees, and for the great help they offered, at considerable sacrifice to themselves, when faced with the suffering and the need of the refugees.

MAGNANIMITY OF FRANCE

“I need only mention the magnanimous help given by France. But more particularly, we must never forget what England has done for the Jewish intellectuals who were robbed of their positions. What we expect from the world is a worthy solution of the problems arising out of the changes of citizenship forced on the refugees by the circumstances. The bulk of the problems will, however have to be dealt with by Jewish self-help.”

He expressed the hope that it would eventually be possible to absorb a number of refugees in non-European countries where they could continue to work at their occupations.

“We may hope that once the unemployment resulting from the present world crisis has been overcome, considerable numbers of refugees will be absorbed in non-European countries without the necessity of changing their respective occupations,” he declared.

Reverting to his topic of Palestine, Professor Einstein discussed the Hebrew University at Jerusalem, a subject which has always been of particular interest to him and which has held much of his attention.

THE UNIVERSITY’S TASK

“The University,” he said, “now has a different and much larger task than at the time it was founded. It must not only seek to become a full-fledged academic institution to satisfy the steadily growing demands of Palestine itself. as well as an educational center for the neighboring Orient, but it must also become a center of Jewish intellectual work and research in place of the centers of research of which we have been deprived in Europe. For this purpose a complete remodeling of the University is essential. For this, thanks to the large number of academic workers now available, an opportunity is now given such as will never occur again.

“The speedy and thorough solution of this problem is a matter of the utmost importance not only for the numerous scientists whose work and existence are now threatened, but also for Jewry as a whole, and for Jewish esteem in the world,” he concluded.

At the close of the Institute’s semester, Dr. Einstein declared, he intends to go to Paris for two months and there will take up his appointment to lecture at the College de France.