The Jewish Telegraphic Agency was reliably informed today that the French government, which has had under consideration the settlement of German Jewish refugees in Syria, is now examining a detailed memorandum calling for large scale settlement of refugees there near the Palestine border.
The French High Commissioner in Syria, Count Damien de Martel, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency learned, is favorably inclined toward the project and is expected to recommend that German Jewish refugees be allowed to settle in Syria, especially in view of the fact that the French government is losing millions of francs annually in administering the Syrian Mandate. In Palestine, on the other hand, the treasury is reporting a large surplus annually.
JEWISH AGENCY NEGOTIATES
Highly placed French officials declared that if 100,000 Jews are allowed to settle in Syria the catastrophic economic situation now facing that country will be easily remedied.
The Jewish Agency for Palestine has opened negotiations with Syrian landowners for the acquisition of a large stretch of land adjoining the frontier of Palestine, Dr. Chaim Weizmann, head of the Zionist commission for the settlement of German Jews in Palestine, and Moshe Shertok of the political department of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, were in Syria recently and conferred with the French High Commissioner on the project.
At the same time a private group of German Jews is surveying a large area in Syria near the border of Iraq, which the Syrian owners are offering for sale with the full approval of the Syrian government.
LAND IS SUITABLE
The land is said to be twice the area of Palestine and is fertile. If the survey proves satisfactory, the group making the survey intends to form a private corporation and initiate a campaign among German Jews to settle on the land.
Syria was occupied by British troops at the end of the World War. The British set up the late Emir Feisal as ruler of Syria, but Feisal was driven out by the French. Since 1923 France has exercised a mandate over the country. The French administration was hated by the Syrians, who had hoped for indpendence. Between 1925 and 1927, Syria was torn by a bloody revolt led by the Druses. Since the end of the revolt there has been no open trouble in Syria, but the inhabitants are known to be opposed to French rule.
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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.
