Despite the fact that the Administrative Committee of the Jewish Agency adopted a budget for which it did not vote, and elected a Jewish Agency Executive in which it is not represented, the Labor fraction in the Zionist Actions Committee and in the Administrative Committee will continue in the future to assist in the amplification and extension of the Jewish Agency, according to a statement issued here today by members of the Labor parties within both committees.
The statement of the Labor leaders points out that while “the failure of the Jewish Agency in this year of catastrophes does not yet justify condemnation of this serious attempt on the part of the Zionist movement to extend the circles responsible for the upbuilding work, the negative efforts which have already found expression in the leadership of the Jewish Agency during this year cannot be overlooked.”
Blaming the last meeting of the Administrative Committee at Berlin for “imparting a philanthropic and bureaucratic character to the upbuilding work in Palestine without paying sufficient attention to the needs of upbuilding,” the statement says that the Berlin meeting “did not show a desire to improve matters nor did it provide a guarantee for the consolidation of the agricultural settlements.”
Reserving their liberty of action in the situation created by the Berlin meeting, the Laborites declare that “in the present difficult position of the movement we consider it our duty, even while standing outside the leadership, to assist with all our efforts the Jewish Agency in those endeavors which are directed toward the strengthening of our political position, the stabilizing of the Jewish community, the increase of openings for immigration and colonization, and the democratization of the Jewish Agency.”
Warning that they will fight against philanthropic and bureaucratic tendencies “which have found expression in influential quarters of the Jewish Agency,” the Laborites conclude by declaring that they will “guard and retain the political and colonization values and achievements of the Zionist movement and the Labor work in Palestine.”
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.
