The Palestine Deals

While private companies in Palestine are continuing to conclude barter agreements with the Hitler government, a dozen Jewish organizations in Palestine have joined in a united appeal to the Yishuv to strengthen the boycott of anti-German goods there.

The appeal points out that German imports into Palestine are growing from month to month; that the Palestinian market is practically swamped with German goods; that German steamers are unloading hundreds of tons of merchandise at the Palestine harbors almost every day.

At a time when world Jewry is combating German goods, the impression rightly or wrongly prevails that Palestine is not only standing aside but is directly breaking the united Jewish front by entering into all kinds of commercial agreements with German agencies.

The new appeal will therefore, no doubt, be very favorably commented upon by all those Jewish organizations which felt rather embarrassed by the fact that certain groups in Palestine—mostly for private commercial reasons — have caused the enlargement of the German imports into the country.

The twelve Palestine organizations which have signed the appeal for the anti-German boycott are mostly youth organizations. They include the Maccabi and all the youth groups of the Jewish labor party and of the General Zionists.

The youth in Palestine has always been the energetic force of the country. The appeal now issued by the youth organizations is, therefore, very symptomatic. It can be interpreted as the beginning of an organized movement to counteract the efforts of private organizations interested in increasing the shipping of Palestine oranges to Germany on a barter basis. An attitude on this movement will also have to be taken by the central Jewish organizations in Palestine. The appeal demands it. The justice of this demand is a matter which can hardly be disputed.