Report to the ... Zionist Congress and to the Council of the Jewish Agency in ... · 1935-08-01 · 8.1935 · p. Seite 122

REPORT OF THE KEREN HAYESOD. Introduction. The Keren Hayesod looks back on two years of progress. Its receipts have increased in the majority of countries. The year 5694 (October, 1933—September, 1934) shows an income of £237,184 9s. 6d., including £33,549 7s. 7d. earmarked for the settlement of German Jews in Palestine, and £4,001 5s, 8d. from the " Mifal Arlosoroff." Even without taking into consideration such non-recurrent contributions, the sum available for the purposes of the regular budget shows an increase of £32,000 over that of 5693 (October, 1932—September, 1933). The second year of the period under review, 5695 (October, 1934—September, 1935) is not yet at an end. Receipts up-to-date seem to point to a further increase, the extent of which, however, will only transpire in September. The experience of the past few years has shown that the last few months of the fiscal year are the most important in that respect. The £500,000 loan of the Keren Hayesod and Jewish Agency, into which the commitments of both bodies have been merged, has consolidated the finances of the Keren Hayesod. All short-term loans and other obligations have been repaid. The budget of the Jewish Agency, i.e., the current income of the Keren Hayesod, merely carries an interest and sinking-fund charge of £46,000 per annum. Thus the funds which the Keren Hayesod can put at the disposal of the Jewish Agency for constructive purposes benefit alike by the actual increase in income of some £80,000 and the largely decreased expenditure on interest and sinking-fund charges. The next two years will open up an additional source of income in the gradual repayments of the large advances made by the Keren Hayesod at critical periods to the American Zion Commonwealth and its subsidiary companies. The hardest period may now be said to lie behind the Keren Hayesod. It was characterised by the inability of the Jewish Agency to invest any considerable sums in the consolidation of existing points of settlement and the establishment of new ones. Apart from, and in addition to, the budget of the Experiment Station, the current budget allocates £179,000 to agricultural colonisation, £4,000 of which are contributed by "Mifal Arlosoroff" and £15,000 by " Mifal Rothschild." The sum of £63,000 is earmarked for the consolidation of the existing points of settlement. According to the balance sheet of March 31st, 1935, the assets of the Keren Hayesod amounted to £1,088,438. Certain new investments in, and transactions with, Zionist Banks since that date have increased the sum total of these assets. Fifteen years have passed since the inception of the Keren Hayesod in August, 1920. The first years were a period of rapid development followed by a severe setback owing to the universal economic crisis. Now the crisis has been weathered and the curve is once more in the ascendant. 122