The abolition of all immigration restrictions is demanded in a resolution adopted at the closing session of the fourth Histadruth Convention.
Immigration should be handed over to the Jewish Agency, the resolution says, and the Executive of the Histadruth is instructed to develop a big political campaign in this direction.
The resolution also protests against the demands that are being made for restricting Haluzim immigration, and urges the Heholuz abroad to organize qualified laborers necessary for Palestine.
Another resolution calls for the development of a big campaign for buying Palestine-made goods, and a third declares that the Histadruth will fight Jewish employers who do not employ Jewish labor in their orange groves and otherwise.
A resolution has also been adopted by the Convention protesting against the persecution of Zionists in Soviet Russia.
A resolution of confidence in the Executive, approving its policy, including the collective agreements with employers, has been passed by the Convention by 154 votes against 32.
Thirty per cent, of all the Jewish plantations in Palestine are still employing Arab labor, Ben Gurion stated. A total of 70,000 people, Ben Gurion said, are directly and indirectly linked up with the movement through the Histadruth, which makes a third of the entire Jewish population of Palestine. He gave the actual membership of the Histadruth as over 35,000: 13,000 members are married, with 22,000 children. 56 per cent, of the Histadruth workers live in the cities and the remaining 44 per cent. in the colonies.
The colonization work carried on by the workers on their own behalf embraces 152,000 dunam of land, which belongs to the Jewish. National Fund, while in the colonies managed by private capital the number of Jewish workers belonging to the Histadruth has increased in a few years from 8,000 to 18,000. The Histadruth institutions have a capital of £218,000 at the present time, with an annual balance of £878,000.
Comparing the Jewish situation in Palestine with that in Poland, Ben Gurion said that in Poland only 4 per cent. of Jews are engaged in agricultural work, while in Palestine more than 45 per cent. of Jews are engaged in agriculture. And while in Poland 43 per cent. of Jews are in the tailoring
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
