The economic situation in Palestine is more critical than the Arab terrorism, Dr. Solomon Goldman, president of the Zionist Organization of America, declared today, arriving on the Aquitania from a tour abroad during which he visited Palestine, England, Poland, Austria and Italy and attended the World Conference for Palestine in Antwerp.
“The economic situation is much more critical than the terror,” Dr. Goldman said in an interview. “It can be helped only by a larger Aliyah — immigration. The economic situation is more a result of the restriction in immigration than of the terror.”
Palestine, he said, is also affected by the international situation, the people feeling that the country would be cut off from Europe in case of war. He expressed the opinion that the Palestine Jews would support Britain in the event of war, and also the Arabs, despite German and Italian propaganda.
To the international situation Dr. Goldman attributed the British Government’s hesitancy in settling Palestine’s political future. “I think Britain is halting more because of the general world situation than because of what is happening in Palestine,” he said. “The British point of view is that she is fighting on many fronts, and Palestine is not the most important.
“I saw much of the London Times during the weeks I was abroad. Most of the comment and letters from readers was most favorable to a Jewish homeland in Palestine. MacDonald’s (Colonial Secretary Malcolm MacDonald) visit to Palestine gave us reason to believe that the political situation would remain unaltered, largely due to the fact that the Arabs have been unable to frighten the Jews of Palestine as a matter of fact, Jewish gains in the country are almost unbelievable.”
The Zionist leader is remaining in New York until the week-end. He will be guest of honor Thursday at a dinner given by the Zionist Organization of America at the Hotel Commodore.
In a prepared statement, Dr. Goldman said that the “Jews are fighting with their backs to the wall in Palestine” to protect the rights of, hundreds of thousands of Jews outside the country, and declared the struggle would determine whether the Jewish people could save one place in the world to which the homeless could go.”
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