Zionists Pin Hope on U.S. Jews

The National Conference for Palestine to be held in Washington this weekend is likely to prove an assembly of unusual importance, the Zionist Review declared editorially today, asserting that the result of the United Palestine Appeal campaign in the United States was not only financially but politically important as indicating the attitude of American Jewry to the Jewish homeland.

“There is a profound understanding among the American Jews of the greatness of the task which Britain has undertaken in challenging Nazi aggression,” the editorial said. “They are anxious to do everything in their power to help in the building of a new and better world, but cannot conceive of such a world without the hope of a better future for the Jewish people. Their action in insisting on full maintenance of the historic rights of the Jewish people in Palestine is a contribution in the profoundest sense to the realization of the ideal for which the Allied powers are fighting.”

ENTRY OF 7,500 PLANNED

In an article, the Review described uncreasing efforts of the Zionist Executive to continue an interrupted flow of Jewish immigration into Palestine. Since the outbreak of the war 3,000 authorized Jewish immigrants and 2,000 refugees have entered Palestine. Another 2,500 are expected to arrive in the near future in respect of the unexpired portion of the immigration schedule for April-October, 1939. A great improvement occurred in Jewish immigration during the Hebrew year 5699 as compared with total immigration of 10,000 and 11,000 in the two preceding years.

The outbreak of hostilities confronted the Executive with the difficult problem of Jews of Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia to whom certificates had been assigned but who were still in Europe, either in Nazi territory or in neutral countries. Of a total of 5,500 unutilized certificates, 3,000 were held at the beginning of the war by persons still in Nazi territories, 500 in Poland and the remainder in neutral countries.

It was found that no obstacles were placed by the German Government in the way of emigration of German Jews to Palestine, but no such permission was given to Polish Jews. Much effort was devoted by the Executive, both in London and Jerusalem, to obtaining consent of the British authorities that immigrants from Germany be allowed to enter Palestine. Such consent was given, after prolonged negotiation in respect of German Jews to whom certificates had been allotted before the outbrea of the war.

Representations to the Italian authorities resulted in permission for transi of these immigrants through Italy. Since French and Rumanian ships were withdrawn at the beginning of the war, the Jewish Agency chartered an Italian ship for five return voyages. Four voyages already completed brought into Palestine 2,000 immigrants from countries under Nazi domination. (Another 660 immigrants arrived at Haifa on the Italian ship on Tuesday.)

At the request of the Jewish Agency, the Palestine Government sent several immigration officers to Italy to settle visa questions there. It is expected that during January all the rest of German certificate holders will arrive in Palestine. The Agency has also succeeded in obtaining consent of the Palestine Government that unutilized Polish certificates be placed at the Agency’s disposal for reallocation.

The Executive protested to the High Commissioner against the exclusion of Jewish immigrants from the present schedule and has now submitted application for an immigration schedule for the period October 1939, to March, 1940, and also for further allocations on account of the 25,000 extra permits for refugees, of which only 5,000 have so far been allotted.