The Palestine Bureau (PB) was an organisational subdivision of the Keren Ha‑Yesod Fund (KH) responsible for Jewish emigration and tourism to Palestine. It was located in the offices of the Fund at Elizabetes Street 45/47‑1 in Riga.
The PB existed even before Latvia’s declaration of independence, and it was to this organisation in Riga that a telegram from the Executive Committee of the World Zionist Organisation about the Balfour Declaration was delivered. It was one of the first Zionist organisations to begin work in independent Latvia. Announcements and reports about the Bureau’s activities appeared in the press as early as January 1920.
Various Zionist groups in the country collaborated within the PB, which coordinated their work in organising emigration to Palestine. In addition to emigration work, the Bureau held numerous meetings at which the objectives and activities of the Keren Ha‑Yesod in Latvia and Palestine were explained, information about possibilities for relocating to Palestine was provided, and details about admission to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem were discussed. The Bureau also organised other events, and was involved in KH fundraising campaigns for the needs of emigration and Palestine. Additionally, the Bureau organised excursions to Palestine.
In several Latvian localities, representatives of the Fund and the Bureau were active in assisting these efforts.
The Bureau was headed by Rabbi M. Nurok, who was the director of the Keren Ha‑Yesod Fund in Latvia. The leadership included 12 active members of the Fund, such as: B. Paenson, Sh.–G. Garfunkel (Garfinkel?), Z. Belinkis (Belinke).
…among others.
In the 1930s, the PB was often referred to as the Palestine Committee, and its principal work became the organisation of emigration to Palestine. After the establishment of the Jewish Agency in 1929, the PB in Latvia carried out that agency’s functions locally.
Members of the Central Jewish Agency in Jerusalem took an interest in the Bureau’s activities. At the end of 1934, the Director of the Immigration Department of the Jewish Agency and the representative of the Society for Jewish Settlement in Palestine (Jewish Agency for Palestine), Professor Z. Brodetsky, visited Latvia. During his visit, he briefed the Vice‑Minister of Internal Affairs on the work of the Fund and the Bureau and received a promise of “full cooperation” with them.
However, by late August 1935, the Ministry of Internal Affairs demanded that the Bureau cease its operations. M. Nurok clarified that the PB was not a separate organisation, but merely one of the committees of the Fund, and requested permission to continue its work. The authorities acceded to the request.
The PB issued certificates for emigration to Palestine on behalf of the Jewish Agency. After World War I, the intensity of Jewish emigration to Palestine depended on several factors, such as the situation of Jews in Latvia and Palestine and permissions issued by Britain, which controlled entry under the mandate system.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Britain repeatedly restricted entry of Jews to Palestine, especially toward the latter part of this period. Zionist and non‑Zionist organisations worldwide, including in Latvia, protested these restrictions.
For example, in May 1930, a meeting of Zionist and non‑Zionist organisations in Latvia — with speakers such as O. Gruzenberg, M. Nurok, Zh. Tron, M. Lazerson, and Ya. Hoffman — expressed protest to the British government over the suspension of Jewish immigration to Palestine. Lithuanian and Jewish groups criticised British policies which they saw as self‑serving, and as contradictory to the Balfour Declaration. Even pro‑British leader Chaim Weizmann described the October 1930 British policy as a retreat from the Balfour pledge, declaring that Jews “had not forgotten that they were promised a Jewish state.”
Latvian Zionists unanimously condemned the British policy. In Riga, a protest meeting adopted a memorandum demanding the cancellation of immigration restrictions and full implementation of the Balfour Declaration. The newspaper Segodnya commented that British policy was driven by imperial interests — notably concerns over the Suez Canal and unrest in India — and that Britain viewed Middle Eastern Arabs as strategic allies in its global interests.
Protests were effective to some degree, and certain restrictive measures were withdrawn. Subsequently, the PB, along with organisations such as Olim, Jewish Women’s Educational Society, Herzliya, Gordonia, Hashomer Hadati, and others, repeatedly protested immigration restrictions.
Despite protests, immigration certificates were limited. Many more Jews wished to leave than were permitted to do so:
Summer 1932: Newspaper Segodnya reported that 200 people from Latvia sought 35 certificates — including 150 from halutz (pioneer) organisations (with agricultural training) and 50 craftsmen.
1934: Latvia was allocated 40 certificates; another report stated that out of 4,500 total certificates, only 90 were given to Latvia.
1935: The Jewish Agency allotted 170 permits for Latvian Jews — 130 halutzim, 25 for relatives, and 15 for skilled artisans.
1936: The number fell again to 65 certificates (55 halutzim, 5 relatives, 5 craftsmen).
According to later reports in Segodnya, from 1 Jan–1 July 1936, a total of 239 people left Latvia for Palestine — including 61 halutzim, 29 specialists, 49 relatives, and 47 tourists.
In 1937, the PB in Riga received 50 certificates out of 8,000 issued worldwide (Poland received 50%, Germany 15%). Of these: 70% were allocated to halutzim, 30% to craftsmen.
In December 1937, an additional 38 certificates were apparently assigned to Latvia, distributed as: Olim – 24, Herzliya – 4, Religious Zionist youth – 2, Women’s organisation – 1, Brit Trumpeldor – 3.
In September 1938, media reported that 20 people emigrated to Palestine from Latvia, including members of Olim, Herzliya, Makhane‑Israel youth, and relatives.
From the mid‑1930s, some Orthodox Jews also emigrated. These departures were often organised not by the PB but by non‑Zionist religious groups, such as Makhane‑Israel, successor to Agudat Israel. Their reasons were based on religious motives, not Zionist ideology.
The Latvian PB also facilitated emigration for non‑Latvian Jews. During the 1920s–30s, Russian Zionists used the Latvian route to emigrate to Palestine. For example, in 1934, 845 people travelled through Riga to Palestine.
According to Latvian press sources (Segodnya, Dvinskiy Golos):
From 1919 to 1941, 4,547 people emigrated from Latvia to Palestine.
In a 1935 address entitled “Modern Palestine,” M. Nurok noted that about 3,000 former Latvian citizens were living in Palestine.
Latvian immigrants made significant contributions to Zionist goals. By 1932, Latvian emigrants had established a “Latvian colony in Palestine,” and by 1933 the Herzliya colony included 90 members of the Borokhov‑Jugnt organisation, mostly from Latvia.