Jewish Agency Reports Decrease in Sale of Seekolim in United States and England

The number of persons eligible for representation at the forthcoming World Zionist Congress will be about 100,000 less than the number represented at the last Congress held in Basle in 1946, it was reported here today at the plenary session of the Jewish Agency executive.

Eliahu Dobkin, executive member in charge of the Organization Department, who sulhitted the report, said that as a result of the shekel campaigns of the last two years approximately 1,900,000 shekel holders are eligible for representation at the 1951 World Zionist Congress which will be held in Jerusalem early in the summer. He explained that the shekel campaigns would have shown an overall increase, except for the fact that approximately a half-million potential shekel buyers in Eastern Europe were excluded by domestic conditions prohibiting campaigns in that area.

Part of the loss, Mr. Dobkin said, was made up by a heavy increase in shekel buying in Israel, Latin America and the Middle East. Aside from Eastern Europe, the only two countries to show a decrease in the campaigns since 1948 were the United States and England. The speaker declared that except for Israel, all countries holding elections for the Congress will have completed their balloting by December of this year. In Israel, the holding of municipal elections in November prompted a decision to postpone Congress elections there until March. In those countries where no elections are slated because parties have voluntarily agreed on the allocation of delegates, the lists of such delegates must be turned in not later than December 1 of this year.

Mr. Dobkin gave the following breakdown on the current distribution of shekel holders: United States 774,000; Israel 670,000; Europe 140,000; Latin America 110,000; Middle East 75,000; South Africa 40,000; other countries 91,000.