The Assefath Hanivcharim, the Jewish National Assembly, was asked today to approve a $7,400,000 budget to meet the needs of Palestine’s Jews for the current year. The Palestine Government will contribute $400,000 of the total required.
In presenting the budget, Berl Katznelson, Palestine labor leader, pointed out that despite the existing prosperity many thousands of Jewish children in Palestine are undernourished and many are suffering from hunger. He stated that while the price index in the country is now 348.3, Jewish workers have not received corresponding increase in wages, thus their families are in need of social aid.
Figures on Jewish soldiers reported dead, missing and taken prisoner were reported publicly at the session of the Assembly for the first time since the outbreak of the war. Dr. Bernard Joseph, legal adviser of the Jewish Agency, disclosed that 120 Jewish men in the armed forces are listed as killed, 300 are missing and about 1,300 have been taken captive. He said that 28,000 Jewish men and women are now serving in the armed forces and approximately 50,000 are engaged in the civilian defense system of Palestine.
MANIFESTO TO WORLD ASKS RESCUE OF JEWS IN EUROPE
The Assembly at its session today issued a manifesto to the civilized world calling for speedy measures to save the Jews in Nazi Europe who can still be saved. The manifesto was issued following stirring addresses delivered by members of the Assembly accusing the democratic governments of being indifferent to the fate of the Jews who are being annihilated by the Nazis.
The speakers emphasized that the Jews in Palestine “are tired of empty declarations of sympathy” which are not supplemented by effective measures. They pointed to the fact that Jews in Axis countries could have been exchanged for Italians from Abyssinia. They also challenged the argument that there are no ships to transport the 4,000 Jewish children from Bulgaria to Palestine. Sufficient shipping facilities are found for pilgrims going to Mecca and ships are secured to transport food to the population in Greece, they pointed out.
A report submitted to the Assembly on Jewish economic contributions to Palestine’s war effort revealed that the Jewish industrial output in Palestine reached $100,000,000 in 1942 and that Palestine is now producing medical and chemical supplies which are of enormous aid to the Allies.
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.
