Two Generations or Three Years?
Ever since the State of Israel came into being, many of us have seen
the need for a new approach to the future relationship between the Jews
of the United States and the upbuilding of Israel.
Throughout the past few decades that relationship took the form
of fund-raising campaigns, and the great and deep emotional feelings of
American Jews were expressed through a constantly increasing measure
of financial help.. No one can overestimate the enormous historical im-
portance of the programs which were carried through as a result of philan-
thropic campaigns. And this form of assistance will have to continue for
some time to come.
But we have reached the point where we must adopt a finance program
which will give Israel the opportunity to grow and to achieve economic self-
sufficiency in the course of the next few years. The proclamation of the State
of Israel was a revolutionary act, and that profound change in our history has
had an indelible influence on every phase of our lives and our work.
I see in the Israel Government bond issue the first attempt to give a prac-
tical financial expression to the magnitude of our job. It is a serious effort to
mold the means and the ways of financing to the needs, the opportunities and
scope of the economic development of a new nation. It is an extraordinary un-
dertaking in. terms of our past experience. But it is quite ordinary in relation
to the demands of the hour.
In spite of the fact that we had to pay the Arabs and the British for the
chance to live and grow, the 600,000 Jews who were in Israel on May 14, 1948,
could have maintained a high status of prosperity and economic independence,
if they had limited immigration to the existing economic capacity of the coun-
try. Had we followed such a policy, we would have been in a very good position
and our independence in the economic sphere would have been an established
and incontrovertible fact.
But our basic difficulty has been that we have brought into Israel in about
two and a half years 500,000 men, women and children without any comparable
capital investment. We cannot escape the fact that economic resources cannot
be developed unaided to keep pace with the influx of so many impoverished people.
As a result we are faced with a gap between the economic development of the
country and the great numbers of immigrants who are still pouring into Israel.
This is the crux of our economic problem. How do we expand our economic
structure to give to the constant flow of newcomers the same economic stability
and freedom which has been enjoyed by those 600,000 who were in Israel on the
day of its independence?
.
The answer lies in the bond issue. The bond issue must provide us in the
shortest possible time with the capital investment necessary to turn the large
number of newcomers into as productive an economic factor as the older in-
habitants of the country.
The bond issue must give us the possibility of doing in a matter of a few
years what it took us thirty and forty years to do for the first 600,000 Jews in
Israel. Even with the limited capital at our disposal today, we are making sub-
Totzeret Haaretz Made in Israel
Milady and her children can clothe themselves entirely
in Israel-made garments today. Their home can be decorated
with art objects from the Jewish State. Their dinner table
can be graced by delicacies from Israel. Israel goods to meet
every-day needs are'available today in American stores.
In cities throughout the Unit- <)
ed States and Canada, leading
merchants are featuring Israel's
products. Fashionable ladies'
shops are doing a brisk business
with a checked vest worn over a
slim dark skirt and a claSsic
white • blouse, topped with a
matching box jacket. Discern-
ing customers are flocking to
buy a butter-soft casual coat of
dark wool, with a wide turn-
down collar and patch pockets.
These are only two of the large
number of ladies' fashions
designed by Israel's conturiers
that are finding wide acceptance
in the American market.
The younger set can be sup-
plied with Israel-manufactured
knitted garments, shoes, and
underwear. For infants, - there
are the usual clothes, and an at-
tractive quilted baby carriage
has a large American sale.
Jams and jellies, traditional
snacks for American children,
are now being imported in
large quantity from Israel.
Especially favored are orange
marmalade and strawberry
jam, which compare with the
best •that can be bought any-
where. A large assortment of,
canned fruits and vegetablps
is available, as well as canned
gefilte fish. A wide variety of
Israel's candies and chocolates
are sold in this country, and
there is big demand for wine
from the famous cellars at
Rishon-le-Zion.
By PINHAS LAVON
Minister of Agriculture,
Government of Israel
stantial progress. This year we expect to add about 250,000 dunams of land to
the irrigated area of Israel. By American standards, that is not a large area,
but it represents a very important increase, when you realize that the total
irrigated . area in Israel amounts to 350,000 dunams. Out of this total, about
170,000 dunams are orange groves, leaving only 180,000 dunams for mixed agri-
culture.
The addition of 250,000 dunams in one year
to the land under irrigation is a major step
forward. But what we need is a million dunams
under irrigation, and not 350,000. Then we would
have more barley, more wheat, more potatoes
and more vegetables. And more cultivated land
would also mean more cows, more eggs, more
milk, more cheese and butter, and even more
meat.
We have the manpower, we have the skill.
Given the capital investment, we can fully de- -
velop the economy of the country, give it new
economic strength, give it the economic ability
to stand up against any difficulties, and give it
a sense of real independence. And we must have
the required capital to do all this_as quickly as
PINHAS LAVON
possible—now, today.
Let us take a specific example. Only six or seven years ago, fishing was
not a Jewish trade in our country. There were Arab fishermen and there were
Italians who came to fish off the shores of Israel. The Jews preferred to de-
velop ponds. But despite the fact that we were not accustomed to venture far
out at sea, we started to develop the fishing trade on a large scale. We have
made such good progress in this new industry that we can, by 1952, reach the
point of being able to provide for all of the fish consumption iii the country.
This year we anticipate that more than 60% of our fish supply will come
from our fishing fleet. We have already begun to form a fleet in the North,
Sea. Who would have thought that the time would come when Jews would
once again be going to sea as fishermen, and not merely in the Mediterranean,
but as far from home as the North Sea?
The bond issue will decide for Israel whether the economic progress that It
can achieve will be attained in two or three years or whether it will go through
a prolonged and painful process extending over twenty or thirty years. We have
all the elements to solve the problem of the ingathering of the exiles and of lay-
ing strong economic foundations for the State of Israel by 1953 or 1954. We have
the scientific and technical means at our disposal to do the job. However, if we
fail to get the funds that are needed, we shall be forced to wait a long time,
and it will cost us ten times as much.
I believe that We have the right to come to the Jews of the United States
and ask them to have confidence in us and in our proven ability to build up a
land of hope and freedom for all the people of Israel. I believe we have the
right, not only in terms of sentiment, but in terms of solid economic achievement,
to ask American Jews to invest in the greatest undertaking in Jewish history.
Israel Land of Growth Freedom
By JULIAN B. VENEZKY
Editor's Note: Mr. Venezky, one of America's outstanding
Jewish leaders, who was formerly Chairman of the National
Campaign Cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal, is Chairman of
the Executive Committee of the American Financial and De-
velopment Corporation fox= Israel, which will direct and manage
the sale of Israel Government bonds in this country.
still further the cloSe ties that
bind our two countries together.
And these bonds represent a
sound investment in a land
which is growing in strength and
One treasures the experience of being in on the birth
of a new nation, of watchilig it grow, of aiding in its advance
toward independence anti: self-relikriCe, The brave men and
women who founded our Republic in' .1776 knew the thrill
Of building a new land out of the wilderness. And the people
of Israel today have that same unique opportunity to create
and build for generations to come.
Those of us who have worked for the development of
Israel have shared to some extent in that glorious experience.
All of us feel that we have been partners in the great work
which has brought Israel today to the threshold of economic
Israel's toys have a strong ap- maturity and self-sufficiency. 0
peal for American children.
Gaily dressed dolls, clad in
bright Oriental costumes, are
invariably 'a favorite with the
younger generation. Other prod-
ucts of Israel's arts and crafts
are ash trays, vases, candle-
sticks, dishes, and other objects
made of brass, copper and
bronze. Potterys and ceramics ITI-
elude figurines, vases, and tiles.
There is a profound appeal to
the American public in religious
objects made in Israel. Among
Continued on Page 7
That maturity is nearer than
many of us, perhaps, realize. A
strong indication of this fact is
the forthcoming $500,000,-
000 State of Iumel bond issue,
which will be offered to the
American public on May 1. This
call for investment in the Jew-
ish State reflects a profound
change in the character of Is-
rael-American relations. For the
first time, Israel is placing great
emphasis on the type of econom-
ic assistance which is charac-
teristically sought by young and
growing nations.
we need Israel as much as Israel
needs us. The strengthening of
Israel's economy will contribute
immeasurably to our security.
There has been ao deep and
abiding friendship between Is-
rael and America since the day
that the Jewish State was estab-
lished. Our nation was the first
to accord recognition to the new
democracy. The widespread pttr-
chase of State of Israel bonds by
the American public will cement
JULIAN B. VENEZKY
stability, whose citizens are de-
termined to make their home-
land a success and repay their
obligations in full.
The possibilities for develop-
ment in Israel are tremen-
dous. The land is blessed with
many mineral resources, and
large areas of fertile land. Its
industries manufacture a wide
variety of products, lending the
economy a stability which
many larger countries might
well envy. Israel's program of
expansion for the next three
years is imaginative and chal-
lenging, but fully yealistic in
terms of the land and the
people.
DRUGS FOR ISRAEL'S MEDICAL NEEDS: Spotlessly clean
The success of the . bond drive
is indispensable to the realization
of Israel's great possibilities.
And, by the same token, it is
essential to the fulfillment of
Israel's role as key bastion of
democracy in a crucial area of
the world.
The spirit of democracy in
Israel is a powerful force and the
people of Israel share our desire
for the preservation of human
freedom and dignity. In the
present crucial world. situation,
and sanitary is this workroom at the "Teva" pharmaceutical
factory in Jerusalem. Gauze-masked technicians prepare drugs
and biologicals for Israel's medical profession. The expansion
of industries such as this one, which will help to reduce the
country' need for imports, will be made possible by the $500,- 6
000,000 Israel Government bond issue.
THE JEWISH NEW5
Friday, February 16, 1951
—
REPAIRS IN THE. FIELD: An Israel farmei- makes minor
repairs on his equipment as he goes about the task of provid-
ing food for his country's rapidly growing population. The
mechanization of agriculture in the Jewish State, Which will
mark a major stride toward economic self-sufficiency, will be
accelerated by funds derived through the sale of the $500,000-
000 Israel Government bond issue in the United States, be-
kni9i-ng May1.
,