Talk of Palestine Crisis Exaggerated, Wassermann States at Berlin Meeting

German Notables’ Body Reaffirms Faith in Palestine Reconstruction (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Words of encouragement as to the future possibilities in the reconstruction of Palestine as the Jewish National Home were heard at the annual meeting of the Pro-Palestine Committee in Germany held here last night.

Sixty German notables, including diplomats, members of parliament, professors at the universities, and leading industrialists attended the meeting which was presided over by Count von Bernstorff. In his report on the past year’s activities of the committee, Count von Bernstorff stated that the Committee’s membership has grown from sixty to one hundred and twenty-four. The committee bases its work on the principle expressed in the Balfour declaration that the reconstruction of the Jewish National Home is not to prejudice the status of Jews in the countries of their birth and citizenship. The Pro-Palestine Committee is supporting the reconstruction of Palestine politically and economically, he stated.

In a lengthy report submitted to the committee by Oscar Wassermann, director of the Deutsche Reichsbank and member of the Non-Partisan Survey Commission of the Jewish Agency, the well known German financier who recently returned from Palestine took exception to what he termed exaggerated reports of the Palestine crisis. The spirit of the people in Palestine is hopeful, the human material is ideal and constitutes a guarantee for the success of the work. The construction of the Haifa harbor and the carrying out of the electrification project will open new perspectives, he stated.

Herr Wassermann, however, was less optimistic with regard to the possibilities of exploiting the salts of the Dead Sea.