The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee plans to settle on the land in Soviet Russia during the year 1927 not less than 5,000 Jewish families, or 25,000 persons, in addition to the 7,500 families already settled by the Committee up to now.
This was the statement made by Dr. Joseph A. Rosen, head of the Agrojoint, the agency of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee carrying on the Jewish settlement work in Soviet Russia, prior to his departure for Russia on the steamer Roma tomorrow.
Interviewed by the representative of the “Jewish Daily Bulletin” Dr. Rosen discussed the plans for the future work of the Joint Distribution Committee in Russia. Plans for the 1927 work have already been completed and the work will proceed immediately. As to the program for 1928, during which it would be possible to settle another 5,000 families, this is not decided yet. For this reason the Agrojoint will have to confine itself to its plans for this year. This of course creates an uncertainty, Dr. Rosen stated.
When asked whether he will visit Palestine on his way to Russia, as was intimated some time ago, Dr. Rosen stated that he regrets his inability to do so at this time. He admitted that the negative attitude displayed in certain Zionist circles toward his proposed visit in a private capacity had something to do with his decision not to visit Palestine at this time. “As soon as it became known that I may visit Palestine, the charge was made that I would go to Palestine to prepare a report which would be to the liking of one or the other man. Never in my life have I written reports with a preconceived notion to coincide with this or that opinion. I base my opinions on the observation of facts which come to my knowledge. This alone is the deciding factor for me,” Dr. Rosen declared.
Dr. Rosen further stated that in the settling of the 5,000 Jewish families during the year 1927, two-thirds of the number will be directed toward the land available in the Crimea, while the other third will be settled in the neighborhood of the new Jewish colonies in the Ukraine. During the last year, the proportion was the reverse. Of course, this does not represent the full amount of the work which will be done in Soviet Russia in this direction, as there are other organizations, like the Ica and the Ort, which are active in the settlement work.
Dr. Rosen also declared that the project reported from Russia concerning the making available of the Azov sea region lands for Jewish colonization would not come under the consideration of the Agrojoint. These lands need extensive drainage and the amount necessary is so great that it cannot be thought of at present.
“I must also on this occasion correct the erroneous impression created apparently by a misunderstanding of a Russian term. The impression went abroad that the land in Crimea needs irrigation. I believe that this is due to a wrong translation of the Russian word ‘vodosnabjenic’ which means literally ‘water supply’ The English translators of Kalinin’s statement and address mistakenly referred to it as ‘irrigation’. In reality, it means ‘water supply’ and refers to the necessity of digging wells. Expensive as the digging of wells may be for an individual farmer, it is reduced to an insignificant sum when the colonization is carried on along mass lines. The land in Crimea does not need irrigation, but water supply, which necessitates the digging of wells.”
Asked for his opinion regarding the recent reports with reference to Kalinin’s speech at the Ozet conference concerning the proposed creation of a Jewish Republic in Russia, Dr. Rosen stated that these reports are in all probability greatly exaggerated. The fact of the matter is that it was the non-partisan group which raised the talk about it, but the Jewish Communists are not in favor of it. The government does not intend the establishment of a republic, but of autonomous Jewish regions, a sort of local self-government, which is quite in accordance with the Soviet policy. The local Soviets are not entirely composed of Communists, he declared.
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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.
