Zionist institutions deliberately exploited Palestine’s underdevelopment to justify cheap native labor

Evidence

According to Boris Schatz, the first reason why the Bezalel Society had chosen to locate their institute in Eretz Yisrael was that “in Eretz Yisrael the craftsman would be able to live off a smaller salary than in other countries.” This view was fiercely criticized by leftist circles among the Zionist yishuv. The organ of the first workers’ party in Jewish Palestine, Ha-poel ha-tza’ir attacked in its first issue the whole set of economic presumptions behind the establishing of Bezalel pointing out two major issues: (a) that the Jewish worker would continue to be content with little, a totally undesirable condition; and (b) that the livelihood of the people would depend on markets abroad that might undergo sudden and severe changes and every crisis would badly influence the home industries of Eretz Yisrael. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 596 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Smilansky was disappointed by expert economists who were leading the project, Prof. Warburg and Dr. Oppenheimer and particularly criticized the latter for his view on low wages and low standard of living of Jewish workers in Palestine as an advantage in conquering the world markets. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 1197 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Some Zionists opposed treating low Palestinian Jewish wages as a market advantage. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 1197; Zionist settlers stereotyped Yemenite Jews as primitive, submissive cheap labor — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 597; Zionism’s essence drives settler colonization rather than contingent constraints limiting it — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism: A Critique of…, 437 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Bezalel’s founders justified Palestine’s location partly by its cheap labor costs #exemplifies (0.92) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 596
• Some Zionists opposed treating low Palestinian Jewish wages as a market advantage. #complicates (0.78) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 1197