For the first time in its history, the “Financial News” of London, one of the most important and conservative newspapers dealing with finance, has devoted a special number exclusively to the subject of Palestine. This step is in itself a striking tribute to the growing economic importance of the country.
A message from General Sir Arthur Wauchope, High Commissioner for Palestine, which serves as a foreword to the special issue of the “Financial News,” says:
“Commercially, Palestine has possibilities which are only beginning to be realized,” the High Commissioner says. “The citrus fruit industry expands year by year; the yield of potash from the Dead Sea has begun and is now commercially profitable; electric power is produced by the waters of the Jordan.
“The new harbor at Haifa is one of the finest in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the largest ships will soon be able to use it in all weathers. Haifa, too, will be the terminus of the oil pipeline from Iraq, so that it may well be termed a new gateway to the East.
“All these and other developments,” he proceeds, offer great opportunities to British capital and industry, in a country where new factories are being established, where revenue is increasing and where confidence is high. “It is in the hope of binding closer the links which join Palestine with Great Britain and with the Empire that I commend this supplement to all readers of “The Financial News’.”
“One explanation, and one only, will suffice for the inclusion of a special number on Palestine,” says the editorial, headed “Prosperous Palestine.”
“In a world of depression, of unemployment, of unbalanced budgets, of derelict agriculture and profitless industries, Palestine stands out as an exception. It is a small country—roughly the size of Wales—but it is a prosperous one: and offers, therefore, an expanding market and a growing field for investment at a time when Great Britain, at least, can ignore no country, however small, which will buy its wares.
“The home and the birthplace of three great religions, Palestine has always been a Holy Land to millions of people: and the magnet, therefore, of religious pilgrims and travellers, But its post-war development has now given it an economic importance which is only being slowly recognized. As Sir Arthur Wauchope, the High Commissioner, points out in his introduction to our special number, Haifa will shortly provide a new gateway to the East; and it will strengthen communications with a hinterland where British enterprise is already developing new
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
