Jewish National Fund Proclaims $20,000,000 Drive for Land Acquisition in Palestine

A drive to raise $20,000,000 this year for the Jewish National Fund was proclaimed today at a J.N.F. convention here. Of this sum, two million dollars will be sought in Palestine.

The convention issued a manifesto to Jews throughout the world calling upon Jewish communities in every country to contribute their share. The manifesto emphasized that six years of war have not weakened the determination of the Jewish National Fund to prepare land for masses of the Jewish people. It revealed that despite the British Government’s restrictions on land salos to Jews, the J.N.F. succeeded in acquiring during the war about $30,000 dunams, bringing its land reserves up to 800,000 dunams.

The manifesto called for the annulment of the existing land restrictions and for the right to acquire land freely in all parts of Palestine. It also demanded that the gates of Palestine be opened to the surviving Jews of Europe.

Dr. Abraham Granovsky, who was re-elected chairman of the board of directors of the J.N.F., while retaining the post of managing director, addressed the conference on the difficulties which the J.N.F. faces in acquiring new land. In addition to the restrictions on land purchase by Jews imposed by the government, there is strong nationalistic propaganda aimed at preventing the Arabs from selling land to Jews, he stated Another obstacle, he said, is the fact that Arab peasants who accumulated money during the war are investing in land.

Among those attending the conference are guests from the United States, South Africa and other countries. Cabled greetings were received from Walter C. Lowdermilk, father of the Jordan Valley electricication plan, Dr. Chaim Waizmann, Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, Dr. Stephen S. Wise, Rabbi Israel Goldstein, Lord Strabolgi and Dr. Emil Somerstein.