PALESTINE: Rescuer Pincus

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"SCANDAL OF REFUGEES—Jerusalem's Relief Committee Starving Refugees'—The Attitude Toward Them Is The Same As Toward Beggars."

Thus recently headlined Jerusalem's leading Hebrew daily, Doar Hayom. It was not that funds were lacking to feed Jewish survivors of the Arab massacre which began at the Wailing Wall (TIME, Aug. 26 et seq.). Plenty of cash was in hand. Jews of the U. S. alone had collected over two million dollars. But the refugees were undoubtedly hungry.

For four weeks they had been fed by the British Government, a fact not gen erally known. Government rations included meat, vegetables, bread and milk daily for all. Then the task of feeding refugees was shouldered by the Palestine Zionist Executive, repository of the huge relief contributions from abroad. Despatches last week told that the P. Z. E. at once cut out meat, vegetables and milk from the rations given to adults. Each received daily, instead, half a tin of sardines, half a loaf of bread. Milk was issued only to babes, one cup per day. Repeatedly Jewish refugees who had once been folk of wealth complained that the Zionist who doled out bread and sardines treated them like beggars.

All these facts tended to be played down by loyal Jewish correspondents in Palestine until last week. Then suddenly the story spilled out. Everything was all right now—Pincus Rutenberg had taken charge!

Enigmatic Pincus Rutenberg is an ex-Russian, an ex-soldier of the late Tsar Nicholas II, and the ex-Chief of Police of the Kerensky ex-Government of Russia. When he sought refuge in London, such statesmen as the Rt. Hon. Winston Churchill praised him for having done his policeful best in Moscow to catch and hang Lenin and Trotsky. Soon a syndicate of British and Zionist capitalists sent him out to found the Palestine Electric Corp. (TIME, March 4). Today he is the Samuel Insull (see p. 52) of the Near East. Last week he dramatically intervened in the Palestine relief muddle, arranged with quiet efficiency that the relief fund will henceforth be administered by the Jewish National Council of which he is chairman. Despatches sounded the knell of half-boxes of sardines, hailed the resurrection of fresh meat and vegetables.