A demand that the forthcoming 17th World Zionist Congress be held in the United States was made by the opposition members of the Zionist Actions Committee at todays session of the emergency meeting of the Committee called to consider the crisis in the Zionist movement arising from the new British policy in Palestine.
If the Congress is held in the United States, which is unlikely because of technical difficulties involved, it would be the first time it has been held anywhere outside of Europe. The suggestion that the Congress be shifted to the United States first gained currency when Dr. Chaim Weizmann resigned the presidency of the World Zionist Organization and of the Jewish Agency with a statement intimating that the Zionist headquarters might be shifted to America.
There was only a brief session today, the final plenary session being postponed until tomorrow night to give the various committees an opportunity to conclude their discussion and frame their resolutions. The committees are meeting difficulties on the question of the formation of a provisional committee to run the Zionist Organization instead of the present Executive until the Congress is convened.
Other snags holding up the reports of the committees are the differences of opinion as to the time and place of the next Congress and the text and form of the various resolutions and their coordination. Most speakers favor a congress not later than the end of January and the Zionist Executive is not opposed to a congress in February. Carlsbad, a favorite place for Zionist congress, has been mentioned as the scene of the 17th congress.
At last night’s session middle class colonization of Palestine was the principal subject of discussion. The suggestions included the speedy settlement of Jews with small means on land owned by the Jewish National Fund. This, it was pointed out, would achieve the double purpose of a larger immigration of the middle classes and the development of all the land now in Jewish possession as well as bringing more money into the country.
Col. Frederick Kisch, chairman of the Palestine Zionist Executive, pointed out that in addition to the above plans there is also the hope of a certain number of labor immigration certificates being granted by the Colonial Office, which, while not numerically large or in accord with the Zionists’ demand, would still be considerable.
He also outlined the immediate financial requirements of the Zionist Executive and the Keren Hayesod, the chief financial instrument of the Jewish Agency. Complaining of the small budget that the Jewish Agency allotted for Palestine development, Colonel Kisch voiced the hope that the Keren Hayesod campaign would begin in the United States early next year in order to utilize the willingness and determination of American Jewry to increase their contributions for Palestine work.
Other speakers recommended that further coordination be made between the Jewish National Fund and Keren Hayesod campaigns in the United States.
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.
