Editorial opinion was divided today on the contrace for refugee settlement in the Dominican Republic signed in Ciudad Trujillo on Tuesday. The New York Times praised the project, while the Jewish Morning Journal voiced qualified approval and The Day questioned its advisability.
The Times said: “It is the first definite success in the long and heart-breaking struggle to find new homes for the refugees in undeveloped countries overseas. It is a blueprint of what can be done on a larger scale, not only in Santo Domingo but elsewhere…The Government of the Dominican Republic has now pointed a way to those of other nations.”
The Morning Journal called the project “a very important undertaking” which would provide homes for homeless refugees and aid in the development of the Dominican Republic. However, the editorial warned against permitting emphasis on Palestine as the focus of Jewish colonization to be shifted.
The Day asked who had authorized the Dominican Republic Settlement Association sign the contract, what guarantees had been obtained to protect the settlers in the event of a change in the Government and whether it was safe to deal with a “dictator” like General Trujillo in view of the Jews’ previous “experiences with dictators.”
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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.
