Jacob Landau, J. T. A. Managing Director, Returns to New York

Jacob Landau, Managing Director of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, returned to New York following a prolonged stay in Europe and in Palestine.

“The main purpose of my trip was the organization of a news service for Palestine,” Mr. Landau stated on his return. “By the agreement I succeeded in concluding with Reuter’s News Agency, the Palestine Telegraphic Agency was given the representation of Reuter’s for Palestine and thus became an important link in the chain of the large news gathering system of the world. The Palestine Telegraphic Agency functions as a general news service, not being limited to Jewish news and it has been placed in a position of serving the press of Palestine in a comprehensive manner by putting at its disposal the world-wide news gathering facilities of the famous Reuter agency, for which more than 4,000 journalists all over the world are working. Friendly relations between the Jews and Arabs of Palestine are dependent in a large measure on the spirit of the press and the character of the reports its publishes.

“With the spread of education among the Arabs, the Arabic press now small and undeveloped, will become a greater factor in shaping the public opinion of Palestine and the neighboring countries and the service of the Palestine Telegraphic Agency as a general news agency will become increasingly important in this connection.

“Under the arrangement. Reuter’s is to be supplied with Palestine news by the Palestine Telegraphic Agency. The usefulness of this arrangement was demonstrated during the recent tragic occurrences in Palestine. Not only the American press, but the European press as well was promptly supplied, due to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, with an unbiased version of the events. The close connection which exists between Reuter’s, Havas, Stephani, Wolf’s and other news agencies of the world, in addition to the arrangement between the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and the Associated Press in operation for many years, was instrumental in securing a world-wide distribution for the reports emanating from Palestine.”

The establishment of an Arabic paper in Palestine and the organization of the Mid-Eastern News Agency covering the neighboring countries were declared by Mr. Landau to be the most important tasks of the immediate future. The Arab world is ignorant of the real aims of the Zionists. Unscrupulous agitators are permitted to poison the Arab mind against the Jews. A daily Arabic newspaper and a properly organized news service for and from Bagdad, Cairo, and Beyruth, would enable the Jewish community to create a better understanding with the Arab nation, Mr. Landau stated.

On his return trip from Palestine, Mr. Landau made a study of Jewish conditions in Roumania and other Balkan countries. The Roumanian government sent a telegraphic invitation to Mr. Landau to visit the country. Prime Minister Maniu, Mr. Buzdugan, member of the Regency Council, Prime Minister Liaptchew, and King Boris of Bulgaria, Mr. Marinkovitch, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Jugoslavia and Prime Minister Mussolini received Mr. Landau. In their statements to him, they surveyed the most important Jewish problems of their countries. “The question as to whether the Jews are to be considered a national minority or a religious community, is the main problem in all the newly created countries and affects the relationship between the Jewish population and the government,” Mr. Landau stated. “In Italy a Jewish problem has been created because of the Catholic school system which the Concordat brought into existence.”

Mr. Landau supervised the news service from the Zionist Congress and the Jewish Agency Council sessions and took charge in London of the reports from Palestine when the excesses broke out. “The Jewish Telegraphic Agency fulfilled its task at this tragic moment; in addition to cables from Jerusalem, a ‘pipeline’ was laid from Cairo to Jerusalem, the J. T. A. correspondents obtaining by telephone from Jerusalem every day a report of all occurrences. In addition to this, a news service was installed from Beirut, special messengers being sent from Palestine to Beirut in order to keep the J. T. A. informed through this channel also. It was due to these elaborate arrangements that every detail of the occurrences was made known to the world and public opinion immediately aroused to an extent where further bloodshed and more tragic occurrences were prevented. In this struggle for obtaining and distributing the news at that moment every one of the J. T. A. offices was working day and night. It is due only to the devotion and indefatigable efforts of the staff of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in all of its six offices, that an efficient service could be maintained,” Mr. Landau concluded.