The Phoenix Jewish news., 1949-09-23
There's No Privacy Little Comfort in sraeFs Tents;
Jewish AGENCY Hopes for U. S. Funds to Build Homes
By Milton Brown
Copyright, 1949, Jewish Telegraphic
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Agency, Incl
TEL AVN - AS soon as yol
get to Israel, you hear about the
tents. Some people speak about
them with embarrassment, Others
are indignant, still others shrue
their shoulders hopelessly.
But nobody is unaware of them
Near the large cities, adjacent to
small towns, bordering settlements
you can see them. Row after row
of grim, dreary tents, into which
10000 human beings seeking g
new life, a new homeland, are
jammed together amid bitterness
and despair, illness and heartbreak
To learn exactly how the new
comers were living in the tents anc
barracks in the reception camps,
recently spent three days there
talking to the immigrants, confer
ring with the officials and sharing
the everyday life of the occup-
ants.
ISRAEL'S BIG headache stems
from two sources = lack of hous-
ing and employment.
"Once we get these people out
of tents and into places that will
give them taste of privacy" one
Jewish Agency official remarked,
"we'll be on the road to solving
the problem"
At the moment, the Jewish
Agency, which doesn't have the
funds to build sufficient homes, is
erecting more tents in various Sec
tions of the state. The Agency,
which derives most of it's funds
from the United Jewish Appeal,
does not have the money to build
homes, because American Jewry is
not providing adequate support.
These tents will be situated in
different areas where the immi-
grants will have a chance to earn
a living through permanent en-
ployment. The tents will have
wooden floors, better sanitation,
and will afford every four famil-
les the use of one shower and one
kitchen.
"IT'S FAR from ideal" a top
Jewish Agency official told me.
"This is a stopgap until we get
money to go ahead with larger
permanent building program, but
even the stopgap should help ease
the conditions in the camps"
During the three days 1 spent in
the camps = I did not sleep there
Il saw United Jewish Appeal dol
lars in action - but there are not
enough of the dollars. saw men,
women and children getting their
mattresses, their blankets, sheets
and metal cots. | saw them fed. I
ate with them and am convinced
that the food dished out to these
thousands is good.
But life in camp is far from
pleasant. There's the endless mon
otony of lining up for everything
from morning until night. For the
average person it is tiresome and
boring.
The paradox about these i'm
migrant camps is that they are sit
uated in picturesque areas. They
either overlook the blue Mediter-
ranean or the rolling verdant hills
and the green fields. Many are
former British camps, and have
good water systems.
FOR EXAMPLE, the Beth Olum
camps at Nathanya, where I spent
most of my 72 hours: Nathanya is
an attractive community, growing
daily as result of new industrial
developments, and is as fine a sea-
side resort as may be found any,
where.
Around the camp, shaded by
trees, you will see that despite five
or six months of waiting, some of
the refugees haven't been idle. The
more enterprising set themselves
up in business - repairing shoes
chocolates = and bar
bering.
BARRACKS ARE, on the
whole, clean. But there is no
such thing as privacy. There are
no partitions or screens to pro-
vide anyone with even the bar
est of privacy.
AS several of my neighbors dur
ing my stay put it: "When | want