Mrs. Edward Jacobs, the only woman member of the executive of the Jewish Agency and former president of the Hadassah, sailed today for Palestine on the “S.S. Fernplant” to implement a plan for settlement of refugees, conceived three years ago by a group of American industrialists, most of whom are non-Jewish. This will be her first visit to Palestine since the end of the war.
The plan provides for the establishment in Palestine of a settlement in which 100 or more young refugees may start life anew through employment in interesting and wholesome surroundings, and living in a self-sustaining, self-governing settlement to be known as Freedom Village. The village is to be established on land of the Jewish National Fund by and for the workers themselves. The plan was inspired and stimulated by Frank Cohne, American Jewish industrialist interested in helping Jewish development in Palestine.
Mrs. Jacobs revealed that the sponsors have provided more than $100,000 to cover the cost of a plant, now being fabricated, for the manufacture of Jordan Almonds. Working capital for the industries will be provided as needed and the entire output of the plant, which is planned for a capacity of 2,000 tons annually, has been underwritten. A board of trustees will administer the funds. The principal and all resulting profits will be applied to the expansion of this industry and for the establishment of other industries in Palestine. “The entire enterprise is calculated to establish a new approach to industrial expansion in Palestine, to stimulate export and to encourage other American industrialists to ambulate the example thus set,” Mrs. Jacobs said.
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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.
