The plans for the farm buildings and dairy and for the general laying out of the proposed Jewish Agricultural School which is to be erected near Mount Tabor, in the Northern District, by the funds of the Kadoorie Bequest, have been completed, says an official statement, issued probably in reply to the recent Jewish criticism that the opening of the Jewish school had been unduly delayed, while the Arab school erected out of the funds bequeathed by the Jewish philanthropist is already functioning.
The road formation from the Mesha-Sejera track to the site of the farm has been already made and the site has been labelled, it is stated, and the construction of the farm buildings will begin in April, as soon as the track from Mesha becomes passable for transport. The Government Architect is now working on the designs for the school building. A bore was sunk in 1930 on the land of the School with satisfactory results. An adequate supply of water has been obtained and a pump is being installed.
The late Sir Ellis Kadoorie, a famous Jewish philanthropist of Bagdad, bequeathed £120,000 for Palestine educational purposes. The Palestine Covernment, after considering the terms of the bequest, issued a statement in 1924, when Sir Herbert Samuel was High Commissioner, that it had come to the conclusion that the money should not be limited to Jewish educational purposes, but should be expended for the benefit of all sections of the population. The Palestine Jews protested that the money had been left by a Jew to promote Jewish culture in Palestine. Colonel Kisch and other representatives of the Zionist Executive intervened with the Government, and it was announced that in consequence it had been decided to establish two separate schools, one Jewish and one Arab. Sir Ellis bequeathed one-third of his estate to the British Government, an official statement explained, to be spent by it on the provision of schools in Palestine or Mesopotamia. Although several of the other bequests of the will were for institutions for the benefit of Jews, no such provision was made with respect to this particular gift.
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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.