Report to the ... Zionist Congress and to the Council of the Jewish Agency in ... · 1935-08-01 · 8.1935 · p. Seite 269

The Work in Palestine. A.—REPORT OF THE IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT. (January 1st, 1933—April 30th, 1935). The growth of immigration since the 18th Congress has continued progressively—in spite of severe handicaps and in spite of the limitations and difficulties imposed by the Immigration Laws of Palestine. The number of immigrants who entered the country in 1933 totalled 30,327, in 1934, 42,359, in January-June, 1935, 30,474. As far as numbers are concerned, this has been a record since immigration into Palestine began. The improved economic conditions in Palestine in contrast to the unfortunate position of Jewry all over the world formed another factor in the rapid increase in the volume of immigration. And added to this were the efforts made to broaden the paths of immigration, in which Government helped to a certain extent by adopting a more liberal juridical attitude and by making procedure easier. This ability to absorb thousands of immigrants (at a time when the possibilities have dwindled of immigrating into countries like America, Argentine, etc., which had for scores of years been the goal of Jewish migration), has made Palestine the centre of aspiration for Jews in every country. The resulting pressure, with the coincident change in the type and character of immigrant r naturally multiplied the problems normally connected with immigration. The labour schedules allotted by Government, which form the basis of our work and which influence the other categories of immigration, were out of harmony with our demands and with the absorptive capacity of the country during this period. As a result the Immigration Department of the Jewish Agency found itself continually fighting on the one hand against the restrictions imposed on immigration and on the other hand against the urgent pressure exerted by countries or groups compelled by circumstances to advance their own interests in matters of immigration over those of the rest of the Jewish people. The main features in the development of immigration during the period 269