Political report of the Executive of the Jewish Agency submitted to the ... Zionist Congress and the ... session of the Council of the Jewish Agency · 1937-08-01 · 8.1937 · p. Seite 44

44 The letter proceeded to set forth the grievance of the Jewish Agency on this score in the following terms : "The Jewish Agency cannot regard this position as other than humiliating to the Jewish community and prejudicial to the economic basis of the Jewish National Home. The Jewish Agency has always maintained as a fundamental principle that Jews are entitled to a fair share of employment in all the public services of the country. The development of the ports of Palestine and the great increase in/ the number of people employed in them has been esentially the result of Jewish immigration and development. The great majority of the passengers landing and embarking at the ports of Palestine are Jews. The bulk of the goods imported and exported through those ports is again Jewish. The Haifa harbour was constructed with the proceeds of a loan in the repayment of which the Jewish community is bearing a share exceeding by far its numerical proportion. The extension works of both ports are to be financed, as is understood, from the Treasury Surplus which is indisputably the result of Jewish development efforts. The Jewish Agency cannot be expected to acquiesce in a state of things which places on Jews the main burden of maintaining a service while making it impossible for them to benefit from it as employees. Moreover, the Jewish Agency regards this state of things as inimical to the interests of good government. It submits that in order to ensure stability in the conduct of the public services it is essential that their personnel should reflect the racial composition of the population and should not be composed entirely or even predominantly of members of one race to the exclusion of the other. In view of the fact that the Jewish population is now numbering nearly 30 per cent of the total and that its ratio is steadily increasing, the Jewish Agency desires to put forward the plea that steps be taken without delay to enroll - Jews on all branches of port work with a view to ensuring that within a reasonable period Jews should form one-third of the total force employed on that service." Accordingly, detailed proposals were put forward as to the initial steps to be taken for the introduction of Jewish labour into Government porterage works at the ports of Jaffa and Haifa, the enrolment of Jewish customs guards, and, more particularly, the licensing of Jewish lighters and lightermen for the port of Jaffa, who would work in partnership with the Arabs. A joint Jewish-Arab syndicate for lighterage at the port of Jaffa, backed by an important group of Arab lightermen and Jewish labour and commercial interests, was then on the point of formation. By that time, Jewish labour had successfully established itself in private lighterage and stevedoring