(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The situation in Palestine should be no cause for pessimism; the crisis would have been avoided if Jewish capital was furnished in the proper time, Col. George S. Symes, former Civil Secretary of the Palestine Government, told the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations.
The minutes of the meeting of the Permanent Mandates Commission were published today in connection with the Commission’s observations which are to be transmitted to the Council of the League of Nations.
The minutes disclose many interesting details. It appears that Col. Symes, in reporting the situation in Palestine, explained why the government of Palestine has not created legislative organs. He emphasized that there is little possibility for creating such organs in the near future. The government of Transjordania is free to prohibit Jewish immigration into the territory from Palestine, but cannot prohibit such immigration from countries which are members of the League of Nations, he said.
Marquis Theodoli, Chairman of the Commission, asked how long Palestine will be dependent on help from abroad. To this question Col. Symes replied that it is the aim of the Zionist organization to make the Yishub (the Jewish settlement) self – supporting. Money is needed to increase the immigration, he added.
Mr. Grimshaw asked the Palestine government representative whether it was true that the land near Beisan, given by the Palestine government to Arabs, had been sold to Syrians and Egyptians and why does not the government facilitate purchase of this land by Jews. Col. Symes replied that the Zionist Organization demands special privileges for the Jews, which conflict with the agreement with the Beisan Arabs.
Dr. Castell asked why the Jews got only £20,000 pounds out of the education budget of £104,000 at the time when the number of pupils in the Jewish schools amount to fifty percent of the total school attendance. Col. Symes explained that the allotment is made not on the basis of the proportion of the pupils, but on the proportion of the general population.
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.
