Contending that Palestine will never become a Jewish state, Moshe Smilansky, president of the Jewish Farmers Association and one of the leading figures in Palestine, today proposed that the Jews of the world concentrate on a demand that Palestine be declared a crown colony, with a view to eventually becoming one of the British dominions.
The Palestine mandate, Mr. Smilansky declared, has proved a failure. It only impedes the protective measures of the country and hampers the economic growth and export, he pointed out, and has kept Palestine in chains for seventeen years. He described the mandate as a great disappointment and urged that Palestine must be transformed into a crown colony.
The creation of a Jewish state in Palestine is impossible, Mr. Smilansky stated, adding that it was inadvisable for a small and weak country like Palestine to become the football of intrigues between great powers, even if a narrow Jewish majority is achievable. The only practical solution for Palestine, he argued, is to become a crown colony and the Jews of the world should endeavor to see to it that Palestine becomes a crown colony, eventually with the status of a dominion.
Mr. Smilansky announced his new plan in the form of an article in Bustenoi, the official organ of the Jewish Farmers Federation of Palestine. The article is published over Smilansky’s signature.
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.
