Somebody is apparently interested in preventing the Jews from possessing land that they have already bought. An instance of this is the Wadi Hawareth land, bought with funds subscribed by the Canadian Zionists, which Arab tenants have ploughed and planted despite the court’s decision confirming the Jewish National Fund’s title to the land.
After fully compensating the tenants, the Jewish National Fund made them an offer which the central government considered extremely generous. Despite this, the Jews have been unable to take possession. The Arab papers in the meantime report that “somebody” promised the tenants about $200,000 to enable them to purchase the land already sold to the Jewish National Fund. While this is probably inaccurate, it is possible that the Arab Executive or the Moslem Supreme Council have been encouraging the resistance of the squatters and promising them money which will almost certainly not be forthcoming.
The Jewish National Fund is nevertheless undismayed and is gradually acquiring further stretches south of Wadi Hawareth with the $375,000 pledged by the South African Jews for 15,000 dunams of land in the orange belt, where, of the 2,000 dunams already bought, 500 have been alloted for workers’ settlement on the estate of Lord Melchett.
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.
