Report to the ... Zionist Congress and to the Council of the Jewish Agency in ... · 1935-08-01 · 8.1935 · p. Seite 164

Lastly, every effort is being made to increase the income of the K.K.L. in the form of lease-rent. Here also there are great possibilities, as the possessions of the K.K.L. represent a great value. They include very valuable lands, which can become productive sources of income with the growing development of the land. It is highly essential to achieve a considerable increase of our income from this source in the very near future; however, it is in the nature of things impossible to achieve this immediately, and it should be taken into consideration rather as a basis for the future than for the raising of funds which are now required for extensive land purchases. However, this source of income is of the very highest importance, the only one through which the extension of the basis for financing the K.K.L. is possible. The Zionist world must realise that the work of Geulath Haares has reached a decisive moment in its development. It only depends on the resources which will be put at our disposal, for a new and powerful advance to be made for increasing the land possessions of the Jewish National Fund. I. The Acquisition of Land. During the period covered by this report, Nisan 5693—Nisan 5695 (April, 1933—April, 1935, incl.), the Jewish National. Fund acquired areas of land measuring in all 32,081 metric dunams, 31,660 being agricultural land, and the rest urban land. The agricultural land is in the following zones : dunams. Judea and the Sharon ... ... ... 6,380 Emek Jezreel ............ 9,919 Valleys of Beisan and the Jordan ... ... 15,361 31,660 In comparison with the preceding Congress period, a decrease in purchases of 13% will be observed. This may be explained by the difficulties of acquiring land in Erez Israel during the past three years, on which we commented in our previous report. The speculation prevalent in the country has limited the possibilities of purchasing land in general, and particularly for the J.N.F. with its limited resources. Speculation was rampant mainly in Judea and the Sharon, where it resulted in a rise in the price of land to £P.20—£P.40 per dunam, and the J.N.F. was obliged to withdraw from a number of prospective purchases. Even the little we bought in these zones—6,380 dunams—cost us a sum exceeding £P.90,000, i.e. an average of £P.15 per dunam. For this reason our efforts were directed to other areas, and the larger acquisitions of the J.N.F. during the period under review were in Emek Jezreel and the Beisan Valley. But even here we regret that speculation has made inroads, prejudicing contracts and increasing prices, and so reducing the opportunities of acquiring land here too. Though the areas acquired by the Fund are small, they are of 164