| Biography | In 1929, the Jewish Agency for Palestine was officially created by the 16th Zionist Congress, held in Zurich. The new body was larger and included a number of Jewish non-Zionist individuals and organisations, who were interested in Jewish settlement in Palestine. They were philanthropic rather than political and many opposed talk of a Jewish State. There was strong opposition within WZO when the idea of enlargement was first raised in 1924 and it was only accepted by the Zionist Congress in 1927. It was Chaim Weizmann's initiative and was established on the principle of parity between Zionists and non-Zionists working together in the building of a Jewish national home. Those participating included Sholem Asch, H.N. Bialik, Léon Blum, Albert Einstein, Immanuel Löw, Lord Melchett and Herbert Samuel. American non-Zionists received 44 of the 112 seats allotted to non-Zionists. The British Board of Deputies joined as a constituent body. Weizmann was criticized for being too pro-British. When the 1930 White Paper was published recommending restricting Jewish immigration his position became untenable and he resigned from the Jewish Agency and in 1931 Nahum Sokolow was elected President, as well as President of the Zionist Organisation. Arthur Ruppin became President of the Jewish Agency in 1933 and David Ben-Gurion and Moshe Shertok joined the executive. In 1935, Ben-Gurion was elected President of the Agency to succeed Ruppin.
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