The Soviet government today urged the Comzet, the government commission to settle Jews on land, to speed up and strengthen activities with regard to settling Jews in Biro-Bidjan, the Far Eastern Soviet district neighboring Manchukuo, which is to be proclaimed an autonomous Jewish republic.
The Commissariat of Agriculture has allocated 1,600,000 roubles for the building of 150 dwellings in Biro-Bidjan and 200 farm buildings. The local administration of Biro-Bidjan has so far not been efficient enough in providing timber and other materials for the building work. As a result, the Comzet was instructed by the government today to look into the matter.
The settlement of Soviet Jews in Biro-Bidjan is proceeding slowly, according to complaints in the Soviet press today. This is due to the fact that the younger Jewish generation has no difficulty in finding employment in any part of Soviet Russia and is thus unwilling to proceed to the distant territory of Biro-Bidjan.
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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.