35
January 1930
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
News Notes A CCORDING to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency report, there has arisen an organization in Europe under the name of “ Christ-believing Jews” with an enrol ment o f not less than one hundred thou sand. To this organization belong prom inent Talmudists and teachers of rabbin ical schools. It is significant to note that this news item comes through an agency which is antagonistic to Christian mis sions. —o— ‘‘According to The Times, a Reuter re port from Warsaw says that a new Jew ish sect has been recently established on the eastern border of Poland, near Vilna, with headquarters at Kucewicze; its ad herents number 15,000. This association has decided to form a Jewish Church, recognizing the deity of Jesus o f Nazar eth, and studying the New Testament, still adhering, however, to general rab binical regulations.” —o— In The Scribe o f November 8 , appear figures o f Jewish converts in Hungary to Christianity who have returned to their ancient faith. “From August 1, 1919, un til July 31, 1929, 567 men, 481 women, and 88 children returned to the Jewish faith. The 567 men consisted of 52 artisans, 121 merchants, 193 clerks, 51 physicians, 35 lawyers,. 27 engineers, 14 farmers, 6 teachers, 60 writers, 70 students, and 45 o f various professions.” —o— According to the November B’nai B’rith Magazine the prayer book of Re form Jewry is to be revised. It seems that the modern spirit more or less has affected all groups. The one refreshing note appearing in the article is sounded in' the following words : “It is also to be hoped that the new prayers will not be rationalized too much. The danger is that sentiment may be rationalized out of them so that the Reform Jew may find himself speaking to an impersonal God with the cold words o f a modern philoso pher.” ■—o— In Poland, lawyers entering the bar are sworn according to religious rites. Chris tians take the Catholic oath and Jews the Jewish oath. Last month there were 20 Jews who were admitted to the bar at Warsaw, 12 of whom took the Catholic oath. — o — Exploitation o f the mineral content of the Dead Sea is expected to begin im mediately, now that a two-million-dollar company, organized for this purpose, has been formally registered in London under the name o f Palestine Potash, Ltd. The chairman of the company will be the Earl o f Lytton, former Viceroy of India, while the American directors include Felix Warburg and Bernard Flexner. Elabor ate drying plants for the extraction of
tion) a sure rock on which it could re create the Jewish national life which . . . would imbue the Jewish masses, dispersed all over the world, with a new sense of hope, dignity and pride. . . . Has the rock on which we built begun to shake? . . . The Jews will never abandon the work of reconstruction which they have under taken. . . . It lies in the hands o f the Mandatory materially to further or ma terially to hamper the progress o f the work. It is of fundamental importance that British public opinion and the govern ments o f Great Britain and Palestine shall feel themselves responsible for this great trust. . . . The task may not be easy for the Mandatory, but for the suc cess it will attain it is assured the undy ing gratitude not only of the Jews, but of all that is noblest in mankind. —Albert Einstein. — o — In the Arab-Jewish controversy, the Pope has registered on the side of the Arabs. An emissary from the Vatican has been sent to Palestine to defend Arab interests there in answer to a petition from Palestine Arabs for help. Owing to continued disquieting reports from Transjordania, Palestine authori-, ties are contemplating fortifying the Pal estinian side o f the River Jordán from the Dead Sea to Beisan, The Emir of Trans jordania has threatened that if the Zion ist aims in Palestine are insisted upon, the Arabs of his country may join those o f Palestine in “a revolt which will be worse than the Syrian.” —o-—- Three hundred and fifteen thousand trees will have been planted in the Bal four Forest by the end o f the coming winter, it was announced at Jerusalem on the occasion of the twelfth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. The Balfour Forest, which is located at Djindjar and forms an important part o f the afforesta tion activities of the Jewish National Fund, was unharmed during the recent disturbances. An excellent orange crop is indicated for Palestine this year; the harvest has already begun and the first shipments of the fruit have been sent abroad. The Palestine Plantation Company, which manages a number o f large orange planta tions, has announced that its property near Tul Charem has been named Tul Mond, in honor of Lord Melchett (Sir Alfred Mond), who is one o f the found ers o f the company. — o— In answer to the recent Palestine out rages, American Jewry is pushing a cam paign for the enrolling o f 250,000 Ameri can Jews in the Zionistic Organization of America. According to reports the work is moving rapidly.
potash from the waters o f the Dead Sea have already been erected near the mouth of the Jordan, and four hundred workers have been engaged, so that actual work on the proj ect can now be begun. — o — The Zionist demand for additional im migration certificates for Chalutzim has been granted by the British Government to the extent that permission has been given for the entry of three thousand new Chalutzim within the next few months. Official Zionist circles expect that after these three thousand shall have entered the country permits will be issued for an other large number. Twelve hundred Yemenite Jews have fled from Yemen, where conditions have grown intolerable, and are waiting at Aden for permits that will enable them to enter Palestine. All the members o f the Chalutz colony, Mayan, in the Crimea have been granted visas to proceed to Palestine and are now on their way to the Jewish Homeland. Over a hundred and fifty visas to Pales tine have been issued to Russian Chal utzim in the past two months, and many more would be able to leave Russia if they had money to cover their traveling expenses. A recent survey o f the natural re sources of Palestine has revealed that apart from the potash, bromine and mag nesium chloride deposits of the Dead Sea the country has petroleum and bitumen deposits, phosphates and gypsum. An other survey has shown that about three thousand tons o f fish are consumed an nually in Palestine, only about one-third of this quantity being o f local origin. The erection of a plant for the Haifa Hàrbor Works has begun and is progressing rap idly. The agricultural situation is good, excellent harvests of olives and other fruits, vegetables and grain having been gathered. — o— The Chinese Foreign Minister has sent the following cablegram to the Jewish community of Shanghai : “It is gratify ing to learn from various sources that the Jewish people have in recent years made great progress in the rebuilding of their ancient country and in restoring it to its former position. The people of China also have undertaken a task of re construction, and therefore sympathize profoundly with others who are working toward a similar goal. We greatly ad mire the Jewish race and its past contri butions to civilization, and on the occasion o f the twelfth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration wish to express our sincerest wishes for its success in the upholding of a modern and greater Palestine.” The Jewish people . . .. saw in the British promise (the Balfour Declara
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