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 115

115 of the goods and passenger traffic passing through it was Jewish — enabled the Arab strike leaders to bring that port to a standstill thereby dealing a serious blow to the authority of the Government, and strengthening the strike and the force of sedition.The Port of Haifa, by contrast with that of Jaffa, was not seriously affected by the strike, largely because of the presence there of a certain number of Jewish workers, even though in non-governmental works. The opening of the Port of Tel-Aviv was not merely an emergency measure called for by the momentary necessitay of securing direct supplies to the city of Tel-Aviv and its Jewish hinterland, which was suddenly cut off from the sea by the closing of the Port of Jaffa. It has come to be regarded as a permanent arrangement destined to emancipate the Jewish population of the South of Palestine from dependence upon Jaffa, where repeated experience has proved their lives to be insecure and their commerce in constant danger of interference. I would therefore urge that full facilities be provided for the development of the Port of Tel-Aviv into one in which all normal operations of loading and unloading goods, and embarking and landing passengers, are allowed without hindrance. 8. It gives me pleasure to be able to record that recently, on instructions issued by the Government of Palestine, a beginning was made with the introduction of Jewish labour into porterage works controlled by the Government at the Port of Haifa. Not only has a step thus been taken towards the redress of a longstanding grievance, but the continuity of the functioning of the Port has been more definitely assured. The Jewish Agency hopes that as time goes on ■ the number of Jews thus employed may be increased to an appropriate proportion of the total. A similar improvement has long been overdue on the railways. The proportion of Jewish labour employed by the Palestine Railways continues to be most inadequate, and I would plead that urgent measures be devised to raise the proportion of Jewish railway personnel to a level commensurate with the percentage of the Jewish population to the total, so as to ensure to Jewish labour its fair share of employment, and to render the service more secure from dislocation in time of racial unrest than it is at present. 9. The special effort made by the Government in the year under review to expedite the construction of the North Road, and to build other roads required mainly for security reasons in areas of Jewish settlement, has also been much appreciated. Of late, however, disappointment has been caused by the intimation that it is intended again to relax the pacè of this work on the North Road, and to appropriate during the coming year only a small amount for the construction of local roads. I would therefore desire most strongly to urge the paramount necessity of completing the North Road within the shortest possible time, so as at length to link up Tel-Aviv with