Avukah Plans Memorial to Ephraim Chizik at Chulda

The movement to rebuild Chulda, the Palestinian Jewish colony which was destroyed in the riots of last August, has been endorsed by Avukah, the American Student Zionist Federation. As a memorial to Ephraim Chizik, who died in the defence of Chulda, the National Executive Committee of Avukah at its last meeting, held on July 6 at Camp Scopus, decided to create a fund for subsidizing the cultural activities of the colony, i.e., erection of a school building, meeting house, museum, etc.

At the same meeting of Avukah a resolution was adopted calling upon the Jewish Agency to take steps toward the immediate rehabilitation and resettlement of Chulda, which has been virtually abandoned since last August. The movement for the resettlement of Chulda has gained considerable impetus as a result of the publication of a memorandum endorsing its rehabilitation, signed by A. Harzfeld, D. Ben Gurion and H. Luft on behalf of the General Federation of Jewish Labor in Palestine. The memorandum concludes with an appeal to American Zionist groups to raise the small amount necessarily required for the project and to turn the money over to the Jewish National Fund in order that the land for the colony may be purchased as the property of the Jewish people.

In the light of the recent resolution of the Zionist Organization of America at the Cleveland convention encouraging colonies in Palestine and favoring the purchase of land between existing Jewish settlements, it is felt by the supporters of the memorandum that other groups will lend their aid to Avukah in the task of raising sufficient funds to purchase the land necessary for the immediate resettlement of Chulda.