“For the first time in two thousand years, the largest number of leading Jews have united in the work for Palestine,” declared Dr. Chaim Weizmann in an interview with the correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency immediately on the conclusion of the Jewish Agency Session. “This is a great day. The event has not only an economic importance, but also a moral importance.
“Until now we were a relatively small force,” Dr. Weizmann continued. “Now we have allies, and I hope that soon there won’t be a division between Zionists and non-Zionists. We know and understand each other. A real sympathy exists between both groups, and this is the best guarantee for success.
“I will inform the British government of the result of this session and convince her that the Jews are ready to fulfill their duty with full force and we expect the Mandatory Power to carry out the Mandate in spirit and letter.
“What we shall create as a work of peace will be harmful to nobody and an honor to Jewry and contribution to the culture of mankind,” Dr. Weizmann declared.
Felix M. Warburg said: “We do not wish to introduce new lines of procedure. We wish to learn as much as possible from our masters and gain more friends for this cause. I particularly desire not to permit a wrong impression to go about. We wish no infringement upon the rights of the other part of the population of Palestine. They will only benefit by our work as in the past. Every inch of soil we acquired or will acquire will also advance the interests of our neighbors and it should be like that. If Palestine was made safe against malaria it benefits the Jews and non-Jews alike.
“We look forward with pleasure to working with our new colleagues, and I hope that later somebody will fill my position, which was undeservedly given me. We shall follow the principle, as in the United States, that nobody occupies a position of leadership in a movement without training a successor. This should be easy in my case,” he said.
Replying to a question, Mr. Warburg stated that the Joint Distribution Committee will continue its work in all other countries as heretofore.
“There were two streams in the Jewish world, one desperately attempting to maintain Jewish life in the Goluth, the other engaged in the recreation and the establishment of a fixed center,” Louis Lipsky said, summing up the result of the Agency meeting. “The first stream possessed calmness, patience and deliberation; the second was adventurous and reckless, bearing the signs of disorder pre- (Continued on Page 4)
“A great deal of credit is due to the patience and forbearance of the non-Zionists, who contributed greatly to this fusion,” Mr. Lipsky declared.
Isidore D. Morrison, veteran Zionist leader in the United States who recently contributed $100,000 for an ophthalmic hospital at the Hebrew University, when interviewed in New York stated:
“The consummation of the enlarged Jewish Agency calls for congratulation to Palestine, to Jewry as a whole and particularly to these indefatigable statesmen, Dr. Chaim Weizmann and Louis Marshall.
“Whether the Agency will be able to coordinate the various elements interested in Palestine upbuilding only time can tell, but at least a beginning has been made to put this vast project on a common sense basis. The Agency will have to bear in mind that intensive campaigns cannot go on indefinitely and that a fixed basis for the upbuilding work must be found.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.