The Zionist delegation from Poland attending the European Zionist Conference here today reported that the Polish Government was permitting the free emigration of Jews leaving the country for Israel. Dr. Adolph Berman, delegation spokesman, told the conference that this policy is a “consequence of the assistance given to the Jewish people by the new, democratic Poland in their fight for freedom and independence.”
Dr. S. Levenberg, London Zionist leader, expressed satisfaction with the attitude of the Polish Government on the question of Jewish migration to Israel but condemned the “persecution of Zionists” in Hungary and Rumania. World Jewry now stands at the parting of the ways, he said, and it is necessary to unite Jewish communities throughout the world for the purpose of increasing the flow of immigration to Israel.
Yehuda Braginsky, chief of the Jewish Agency’s absorption department, reported that of the 300,000-odd immigrants who have entered Israel since the proclamation of statehood only 23 percent have not been integrated into the economy of the country. Despite drastic cuts in its budget, Mr. Braginsky said, the absorption department of the Agency has considerably improved its current programs, especially in housing.
Moshe Kol, Youth Aliyah director of the Agency, reviewing the past 15 years of Youth Aliyah achievements, stated that despite numerous difficulties, youths from North Africa were “doing excellent work” in France in various projects maintained by the organization. He appealed for increased capital investment in Israel and urged small businessmen to come to the Jewish state and establish commercial enterprises. Mr. Kol cautioned, however, against going into “saturated” industries such as textiles and advised prospective businessmen-immigrants to concentrate on the building and hotel fields.
An account of conditions among Jews in North Africa was presented by Dr. A. Baranes, Mapai delegate from Tunisia, who described efforts now under way in North Africa to prepare prospective immigrants for life in Israel.
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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.
