Political Report of the ecutive of the Jewish Agency submitted to the XXth Zionist Congress and the Vth Session of the Council of the Jewish Agency at ZURICH August, 1937 Published by the Executive of the Jewish Agency JERUSALEM, J 937

Political Report of the Executive of the Jewish Agency submitted to the XXth Zionist Congress and the Vth Session of the Council of the Jewish Agency at ZURICH August, J 937 Published by the Executive of the Jewish Agency JERUSALEM, 1937

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CONTENTS. I. Report of the Political Department in Jerusalem. Page i. Introductory ..................... 5 2. Issues of General Policy ...... .......... 5 3. Immigration ....... ........ . 6 4. Legislative Council .................. . 10 ■5…

REPORT OF THE POLITICAL DEPARTMENT IN JERUSALEM

INTRODUCTORY The period of two years for which account is here rendered was a momentous one in the history of the Zionist movement and of the Jewish National Home. It was ushered in by the impact on Palestine of the Italo-Abyssinian war, wh…

6 weather any storm, local or world-wide, which might sweep over Palestine. Accordingly, the newly elected Executive set itself the task of securing the adoption by the Mandatory Government of a policy of active assistance to the strengthen…

produced a state of panic in Palestine, which expressed itself in a run on some of the banks and in an appreciable contraction of credits. For the first time since 1932 Jewish workers found themselves out of employment, mainly owing to the …

8 been reduced, proved of no avail. All that was achieved was the reduction of the reserve to be retained by the Government Department of Migration from the original figure of 350 to 200. 6. The schedule of 3,250 certificates granted for th…

9 a greater measure to the perfection of machinery dealing with the applications — which made possible the expeditious disposal of a large number of applications which had accumulated during preceding years — than to the more liberal treatm…

10 persons as permanent residents. Early in 1936 Government authorised the allocation of a very limited number of certificates from each schedule for the purpose of legalising illicit settlers who deserved special consideration by reason of…

11 the Jewish delegation was to the effect that in accordance with the statement which he had made on behalf of the Government three years previously at Geneva, the Government had decided that after the new Municipal Councils had been set u…

12 ministration of government. The scheme further invested the High Commissioner with the power to promulgate any measure which he considered expedient "in the interest of public faith or good government" if it had twice been introduced in …

13 volving a grave departure from the underlying conceptions of the Mandate. Palestine is the concern of the Jewish people as a whole, not of the present Palestinian population alone. Moreover, to entrust legislative power, in whatever meas…

14 of the inhabitants of the country and of their fitness to take over its government. Palestine was the only hope of hundreds of thousands of Jews in the Diaspora, especially in Germany. The setting up of this Legislative Council would cut…

15 scheme. The controversy which had taken place between the Jewish Agency and the Government on the subject of the Legislative Council was summarised in the covering letter to the Annual Memorandum to the League of Nations for 1935 (Append…

16 terms of the Prime Minister's letter to Dr. Weizmann of February 13, 1931, no measure restricting the growth of the Jewish National Home would be justified, unless it could be proved that without such restrictions actual harm would be ca…

17 letter. He emphasised that no legislation of this kind should have been embarked upon before a comprehensive inquiry into the whole problem of land tenure and land development had been conducted. He stated that the Jewish Agency would be…

18 ject of the proposed legislation had been considered in the light of the report of an official committee which had been set up by the Government to examine the position and to ascertain the facts. It was stated that the procedure to be a…

19 THE DISTURBANCES OF 1936 21. While these political developments were in progress, the security situation in the country became seriously disturbed by a series of terroristic acts and by a violent campaign of anti-Jewish incitement in the…