The greatest step in the Jewish “back-t the-sea” movement was disclosed today by Mrs. Goldie Myerson, Palestine labor leader, in the form of a Labor Maritime Company organized by the Histadruth to promote Jewish seagoing ventures.
Its initial capitalization is £50,000 (about $250,000) of which £20,000 has been subscribed by the Histadruth and £30,000 will be sought in the United States through sale of 30,000 shares of stock, mainly to Jewish labor and Zionist groups.
The Amalgamated Bank of New York has been asked to act as agent for the company, which is still in the process of incorporation in Palestine. It is expected the stock will be offered publicly within a week or two.
The company, which received great impetus through the rapid development of the Tel Aviv port, will seek further to strengthen this outlet to the sea, as well as to reinforce the Jewish foothold in Haifa harbor, promote Jewish maritime and fishing enterprises and provide for training of Jews in occupations of the sea.
The Histadruth hopes, Mrs. Myerson said, that Jewish maritime enterprises will grow until they ultimately rival the Zionist colonization work. The new industry is seen as having the double advantage of providing the Jews an outlet to the sea and increasing the country’s absorptive capacity by creating new jobs and thereby furnishing possibilities for greater Jewish immigration.
Mrs. Myerson, a member of the secretariat of the Histadruth, arrived in New York last week primarily in connection with the new company, of which she is a director. The other officers are David Remez, president; Berl Locker, vice-president; Joseph Sprinzak, I. Finkelstein, Harry Frumkin, Aba Chushi and Israel Gorochofsky, directors.
In her interview with the J.T.A., Mrs. Myerson, a mother of two children living in Palestine, described the great strides made by the Jews in developing a maritime industry. The Tel Aviv port, born of the disorders of last year, has now reached the point where on one day it handled 12,000 tons of merchandise and steadily employs about 600 workers.
In Haifa, meanwhile, the number of Jewish port workers has risen from between 150 and 200 at the time of the disorders to 1,500. The total 2,100 Jewish port workers are organized in the Seamen’s Union, formed two years ago–the youngest union in the Histadruth. It is headed by Abe Chushi.
In Tel Aviv, the workers are employed by the port company, known as the Otzar Mifal Hayam. The harbor directorate includes two members from the Jewish Agency for Palestine, two from the Tel Aviv municipality, one each from Pardess and Syndicate, citrus-growers’ collectives and one from the Histadruth.
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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.
