Press Lauds J.t.a. Service During Palestine Emergency Period

Praise for the service rendered by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency during the recent Palestine outbreak, keeping the press of the United States and Europe informed of the events as they occurred, was voiced in a number of newspapers throughout the country.

The “Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle” writes:

“It will be surprising to most people that in 1921 there were as many Jews killed in Arab uprisings in Palestine as there were in 1929, and yet it is not generally known. The news of the massacres was just as horrible that year as the recent tragedy but the news was not emblazoned on the front pages of the daily press for weeks as was the case this year. Even the Jewish people were not aroused and there was no emergency appeal for relief funds. Certainly Jewish feelings were just as sympathetic then as now, and the world at large was not less calloused to human suffering.

“The difference is due to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency which, at enormous expense, cabled detailed news of the catastrophe. This valuable news-gathering organization was not in existence in 1921 and there was no available news service in Palestine to tell the sad story then. Many of the early cables were transmitted at straight rates of 85 cents a word and the cable tolls alone throughout the period of bloodshed mounted to over $60,000. It was through the correspondents of the J.T.A., who risked their lives in the dangerous zones, that the great worldwide news gathering organizations were able to get the news, and much of it was given without compensation. The J.T.A. felt that the civilized world ought to get the news at once and it is so at a great sacrifice. (Continued on Page 4)

“It is due to this tremendous service of the J.T.A. that the Jewish people of America were aroused to rush to the assistance of their brethren with a relief fund which now totals over $1,600,000. Without the stories in the daily press, this outpouring of sentiment would have been impossible. The Jewish papers could not have handled the situation with any degree of effectiveness. The weekly Anglo-Jewish papers were swamped with news matter that they could not publish for lack of space, and such news a week did so at a great sacrifice.

“The Jewish Telegraphic Agency now finds itself in dire straits and is making an appeal for funds to save it from extinction. It fully merits support. It would not be amiss for the national committee of the Palestine Emergency Fund to allocate a portion of its funds to assist the J.T.A., without whose prompt action American Jewry would not have contributed nearly as much money as it did. The J.T.A. should not be compelled to make personal solicitation for assistance in this emergency. It is a world-wide Jewish institution that has proved its value to the Jewish people on many other occasions and should be supported by the larger Jewish organizations.”

“The New Palestine” declares: “The Jews of the world owe a debt of gratitude to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency for the huge task which it carried out so well during the disturbances in Palestine. Faced with the necessity of bringing out of Palestine news which local authorities made every effort to censor or suppress, the agents of the J.T.A often sent the dispatches at the risk of their lives. Practically every newspaper in the country was indebted in some way or other to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency for the source of its information ### the Palestine events. Had the task of transmitting the information been in the hands of any other news distributing organization it is problematical whether the complete news would have been given and whether the Jewish aspect would have been emphasized. The daily accounts of the outrages awoke Jewry and the world at large to the responsibility of giving protection to the Palestine Jewish community. The J.T.A. may therefore be credited to some extent with the assurance of safety to the Jewish Homeland. Not only did this news agency arouse public opinion by distributing the news, but it engaged special writers of international importance to go to Palestine to survey the situation, and prevailed upon leaders of public opinion to express their views. In the latter category is included the article by Winston Churchill, which has had a profound effect, coming as it does from a famous British statesman. It is to the J.T.A. also, that the American reading public owes the splendid cable dispatches which Pierre Van Paassen has sent to this country from Palestine.”