Here are some reactions to the book Medines Yisroel un Erets Yisroel from Yiddish language writers and critics at the time:
“Simon’s book, Medines Yisroel un Erets Yisroel is a true colorful kaleidoscope of encounters. Few observations of nature, but many of humans. His meetings with children are particularly important. Though a travel book, it reads like a novel.” –Melekh Ravitch.
“Shloyme Simon is a writer with character. His book, M.Y. un E.Y. is not merely a collection of articles gathered between covers, but clearly and distinctly a serious, well thought-out book from a thoughtful man. He searches for the sublime that he found in the Torah and Talmud and the clarity of modern Yiddish and Hebrew literature.” –Shmuel Rozhansky
“It’s a good book, a charming. In it are joy and concern, piety and doubt… In short, it is one of the best travel books about the State of Israel that I have had occasion to read.” — Der Lebediker (Khayim Gutman)
“The virtue of Dr. Shloime Simon’s book, is that over the course of a short three months he was in the country, the author almost exclusively spent time, as he said, with the people, with the actual builders of the country. With the ordinary people, not the authorities and government people… I would like this book—whose writing is lively, intelligent, and with deep understanding, to be called ‘The Confession of a Diasporist.’” — Aaron Zeitlin
“I have no words to express how accurately, deeply and comprehensively you have seen Israel.” — M. Tsanin, the Forverts’ Israel correspondent.
The Nation State and the Promised Land 