Colonial Capitalism and Rural Class Formation (ص 292)

غرض

عنوان

Colonial Capitalism and Rural Class Formation (ص 292)

المحتوى

7G et ee
the 1920's but claims that unemployment in the 1930s and 1940s,
particularly among the Jewish working class, was non-existent
(Sussman, 1974:36).
Despite the absence of ‘official machinery for the registration of
unemployed workers or for the collection of statistics of
unemployment' ( Survey of Palestine,1945-46 p.733), the following
analysis will demonstrated that the (Zionist) official positicn on
Jewish unemployment was motivated by ideological and political factors
and is not supported by the available data. Unemployment was not only
endemic amongst the Arabs but was also widespread amongst Jewish
workers.
To begin with, unemployment among the indigenous Palestinian
workers was staggering. In 1930, the Supreme Moslem Council estimated
the number of unemployed Arabs at 30-35 thousand workers. That is, of
an Arab labor force which during this period numbered 50 thousand,
over 60 per cent were unemployed. (20)
In his survey of Palestine in 1930, Simpson collected data from
various sources showing the magnitude of unemployment among Arab
workers. According to this survey, in Haifa alone in 1930, there were
2,050 unemployed Arabs and 4,000 in and around Jaffa. In the town of
Ramleh, 120 applicants were received for one post of scavenger
overseer. (21)
The seriousness of unemployment during this period was acknowledged
by all District Officers. For example, when asked whether labor supply
in Palestine was sufficient to a big project the government intended
to build, the Director of the Public Works Department said:
There is no difficulty whatever in obtaining all
278
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Colonial Capitalism and Rural Class Formation

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المنشئ

Nahla Abdo-Zubi

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