The German-Pro-Palestine Committee held its sixth annual meeting here to-day. Herr von Kardorff was in the chair, in the absence of Count Bernstorff, former Ambassador to America, who is ill, and sent a message. Among those present were Ministerial Director Dr. Diechkoff, Privy Councillor Prueffer and Legation Councillor Professor Dr. Sobernheim, all of the Foreign Office, and Dr. Ruppel, the German member of the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations. A message was also received from Dr. Puender, State-Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Unfortunately, I am ill, and cannot undertake the journey to Berlin to attend our annual meeting, the first I have ever missed, Count Bernstorff wrote. I have often taken the opportunity to declare myself in public in support of the great social idea of the reconstruction of Palestine, and for that reason I will now only repeat my avowal briefly, and add that my interest and participation in the cause have not in any way diminished. As soon as my health permits, I hope to continue to serve the cause in the coming years with the same devotion as previously.
Dr. Dernburg, former Federal Minister of the Interior, presided at a public gathering that followed the annual meeting held in the former Upper House of the German Parliament, among those present being Professor Otto Warburg, former President of the Zionist Organisation.
Palestine has experienced both good and bad years, Dr. Dernburg said. 1925 was an upward year, followed by a period of crisis which has now been overcome. Certain branches of agriculture and industry are developing steadily. The Jaffa orange is conquering the world market. Immigrants with a good deal of capital are coming into the country now not only from East European countries but also from the West and from overseas.
Hopes and prospects have now become reality. The great Haifa Harbour is nearing completion. Palestine has become a great centre on the air route to the East. The Rutenberg works are supplying electric light and power to the whole country. Palestine is being built, and there is a direct connection between this upbuilding and the solution of the Jewish question.
Count Bernstorff has been re-elected President of the German Pro-Palestine Committee, and Herr Heinrich Sahm, the Lord Mayor of Berlin, ex-Ambassador Dr. Solf, and Herr Leo Simon, one of the leading Jews in Germany, have accepted membership of the Committee.
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