“reader’s Digest” Says Lack of Jews in Palestine Will Solve Arab-jewish Problem

A “report on Palestine” which was originally intended “solely as a memorandum to the editors, so that they might intelligently appraise current articles on the subject,” is published in the May issue of “Reader’s Digest.” The author, Frederick C. Painton, who made a special trip to Palestine, comes to the conclusion that “the Palestine problem will die out by sheer lack of Jews who would give up their own homelands to plant themselves anew in the sterile whiles of Judea.”

The report says that Jewish Agency leaders in Palestine fear that skilled refugees who now make many industrial products will return to their native lands when the war is over. The author of the report claims that Czech Jews in Palestine told him that they look upon themselves as Czechs, not as Jews, and are anxious to go home. “The Dutch diamond cutter,” the report continues, “intends to go home to Holland. Strangely enough, scores of German Jews want to go back to Germany. This failure to sink roots deeply applies equally to Americans. Of the 5,500 American Jews in Palestine fewer than 100 have given up their American passports. The Jews in Palestine know this and fear it. It is one reason why the extremists are making their gesture now. Many leading Jews told me they feared they would lose their main argument at the war’s end by having no immigrants.”

The report admits that Jews have contributed greatly to the development of Palestine and that the Arabs are enjoying great prosperity due to Jewish efforts. It emphasizes, however, that the economic development of Palestine depends on “the millions of dollars a year invisible import of Jewish philanthropy” which, if withdrawn, would bring the standard of living in Palestine to a level no different from the rest of the Arab world.