Scenes reminiscent of the homesteading days in the United States were re-enacted here today at the German settlement of Sarona, a Tel Aviv suburb, when a rumor spread that anyone could stake out a claim on Sarona land, the owners of which are interned.
Approximately 100 Jews arrived in Sarona at dawn on trucks and in carts driven by horses and donkeys. They unloaded building materials and started fencing off plots and foundations for buildings. The news spread like wildfire to Tel Aviv and by noon thousands of men, women and children from Tel Aviv, sweating under the parching sun, were busy converting the fields of Sarona into a residential district.
Mayor Israel Rokach of Tel Aviv, and the district police superintendent, together with a score of officers and policemen rushed to Sarona where they warned the “homesteaders” that the Palestine Government would not tolerate any disturbances or trespassing, adding that anyone who wished to secure a plot must register with the appropriate government offices. The police gave the “settlers” fifteen minutes to remove what they had already erected. In a short time, the grounds were cleared, but hundreds of persons besieged the land department attempting to file claims.
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.
