SUFFERING JEWS

Evening Star, Issue 20056, 22 December 1928, Page 4

SUFFERING JEWS

MISERY AND POVERTY RIFE POST-WAR CONDITIONS IN EUROPE A man who went through the horrors of the Russian revolution, was imprisoned by Bolsheviks, and finally escaped to England, and who now devotes his labours toward providing relief for tlio millions of his fellow-Jcws in Central and Eastern Europe who have been plunged into poverty and misery sinco the war, is Mr S. Y. Jacobi, a representative of the United Jewish rebel organisations, who is in Dunedin making a personal appeal to the Jewish community. . , Mr Jacobi, who has been practising us a civil engineer in England since 1922, tells a graphic story of the distressing conditions which prevail among the Jews of Europe. In Southern Russia alone, in the years following the revolution, nearly 400,000 Jews lost their lives in massacre, famine, and sickness. Those who remained were not allowed by the Soviet to follow commercial pursuits, and among them there was widespread unemployment. From the 7,000,000 Jews who lived in Eastern Europe there were 2,000,000 unemployed. “The task before us is hard,’ Mr Jacobi said. “ We wish to bring relief to our fellow-Jews, and the avenue ot immigration is partially closed to us. There are great restrictions on tue immigration of Jews to America, which before the war absorbed large numbers, and Palestine can only absorb about 10,000 immigrants a year. Wo have to provide for about 130,000 immigrants annually. “ Only partial relief can be obtained through immigration. Hu r aim is to change the economic life of our people. From commercial pursuits we are changing men to enable them to obtain their livelihood as artisans or farm workers. So far we have managed,to create 450,000 new artisans and 125,000 new peasants. The money obtained by Jewish relief organisations is loaned to the people who receive help, and as it is paid back it is available for other Cf *Mr Jacobi has already visited India and Australia, and has mot with a satisfactory response to his appeal. So far about £B,OOO in cash has been collected, and other sums have been promised. Concerning his own experiences at the time of the Russian revolution, Mr Jacobi is not a ready speaker. He was a civil engineer in Odessa, and had

served with the Tsarist troops during the war. Ho organi ßed the Jewish selfdefence movement, and was at the head of 2,000 Jewish soldiers, who guarded the Jews of Odessa from brigands. Then came the revolution. “ 1 was thrown into prison,” Mr Jacobi said. “ I saw men shot down, murdered in cold blood. Those were days of unspeakable agony. 1 escaped to England, and in the country which is the centre of your groat Empire I found peace. For years Russia has been in a state of chaos, but it still has a groat future. 1 would prefer not to talk on these things; I have come to appeal for assistance for the Jews.”

Mr Jacobi will give a lecture, illustrated by lantern slides, in the Jewish Social Club room to-morrow.