Indications that the British government’s order suspending immigration to Palestine had a political and not an economic motive are seen in the publication of the figures and facts on which the executive of the Zionist Organization based its demand for 3,143 immigration certificates and which were granted by the Palestine government only to be suspended a day later by the British Colonial Office.
A statement of the executive of the Zionist Organization just published reveals that the executive had made application to the Palestine government to place at its disposal for the six months beginning April 1, 1930, 3,143 certificates for new immigrants, 2,509 for men and 634 for women. This application was based on an exact estimate of additional Jewish labor required in all branches of Palestine industry.
Explaining the need for 3,143 certificates the figures presented to the government by the executive showed that 2,645 workers were needed in industrial and constructional work. Of this number 30 were to be women. For agricultural labor 825 workers were needed, 121 of which were to be women.
The Z. O. executive emphasized these needs by giving a detailed list of the projects in which the needed workers were to be used and the number of workers to be allocated to each project.
The 2,645 workers for industrial and construction work were needed for the following public and building works:
Emergency Fund 495
Other Building Works 320
Buildings in Settlements of the Jewish Agency 100
Buildings in Other Settlements 150
Road Making in Interest of Security 240
Municipal Works 60
Palestine Potash Ltd 50
General Government Works 840
Railway Workshops and Harbor 390
2,645
The 825 workers needed in agricultural undertakings were divided as follows:
New Plantations 325
Palestine Colonization Association Works 430
Settlements in Galilee 30
Women Workers’ Settlements at Nes-Ziona 40
825
From this total of 3,470 were subtracted 910 persons who became unemployed in the course of the current period as well as new immigrants of the previous schedule. This reduces the total to 2,560. By adding 383 female domestic workers and 200 relatives the figure of 3,143 is reached.
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.
