Jewish Agency Sends Envoys to Neutral Countries to Facilitate Immigration of Jews

Two representatives of the Jewish Agency have left here for Sweden and Portugal to supervise the transfer to Palestine of Jews reaching those two neutral countries from Nazi-held or Nazi-dominated territories, it was announced today at a press conference called by the Agency.

Addressing the conference, Elihu Dobkin, head of the immigration department of the Jewish Agency, appealed to the governments of the United States and of Britain to jointly appoint a high-commissioner vested with full authority to take all possible measures to save Jews in Nazi countries. He disclosed that the more than 30,000 immigration certificates which can still be used for Jewish immigration under the provisions of the British White Paper of 1939 have been assigned to Jews in various Nazi-controlled countries. Of these, he said, 10,000 have been allocated to Poland, Lithuania and Latvia; 5,000 to Bulgaria; 5,000 to Hungary; 9,000 to Bohemia-Moravia; 1,000 to Slovakia; 1,000 to Holland and 500 to Belgium.

“The most urgent task,” Mr. Dobkin said, “is to save as soon as possible 5,000 Jewish children in the Balkan countries.” A special committee of five, including Miss Henrietta Szold, has been formed by the Jewish Agency to prepare for the immigration and absorption of the children and for their education, he declared. He added that the Zionist Congress Court is now considering the complaints lodged against officials of the Jewish Agency who escorted more than 800 Jewish refugee children from Teheran to Palestine recently.

Estimating that it would cost $400 a year to maintain each of the 5,000 refugee children, Mr. Dobkin emphasized that it is imperative that $2,000,000 be raised at once for the current year. As soon as the children reach Palestine, they will be given training to fit them for agricultural work, he said. Children over 14 years old will choose for themselves whether or not they prefer a religious education. Children under 14 will be educated according to their family traditions. Those unable to decide for themselves will receive a religious education.