Israel Finance Chief
Says U.S. Wants Food
Paid For in Dollars
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
TEL AVIV — Finance -Minister
Pinhas Sapir returned from a visit
to the United States with a report
that U.S. officials want Israel to
pay for surplus foods in dollars
and to set a higher interest on
loans to Israel.
Reporting that Israeli -United
States neogtiations were still in
progress on terms of Israeli pur-
chases of surplus food, the finance
minister said the United States
officials believe Israel no longer
qualifies as a "developing country"
and that financial ties between the
two countries should therefore be
placed on a regular basis.
The Johnson administration has
embarked on a policy of general
tightening of its foreign aid re-
quirements.
Addressing the annual dinner
of the American Technion So-
ciety Dec. 15 at Hotel Americana,
Sapir said that "we must turn
our skills and our inventive abili-
ty into the production of goods
and services which will compete
in the world markets" and this
requires "the training of skilled
manpower for the efficient use
of our resources and means of
production."
The Israel leader, noting that
Israel's industrial growth has been
"healthy," emphasized that "in-
dustrial development needs more
than capital — it requires skilled
manpower. In the age in which we
live," he added, "only the most ad-
vanced scientific and technological
skills can assure us the supremacy
we need to survive in a competi-
tive world."
Alexander Goldberg, who as-
sumed the presidency of the Tech-
nion six months ago, announced
that "within five to seven years,
the Technion would double its stu-
dent body from 4,300 to over 8,000"
in order to meet fully the urgent
requirements of "Israel's burgeon-
ing industry."
Sapir said he discussed with
U.S. officials the application for
a $39,000,000 loan for development
of industry, communications and
electrical power as well as $70,-
000,000 sales agreement for sur-
plus commodities.
The surplus commodities would
be sold over a period of two
years under Public Law 480. Pay-
ment in dollars might be required
Christopher Sykes' Book 'Crossroads to Israel': Shortcomings and Merits
"Crossroads to Israel," by Chris-
topher Sykes, published by World,
already reviewed in these columns
by Josef Fraenkel (Jewish News,
April 30, 1965), continues to at-
tract worldwide attention in Zion-
ist and Jewish ranks.
The author, son of the late Sir
Mark Sykes, who was one of Zion-
ism's best friends in the years
of British administrative rule in
Palestine, is well informed. Never-
theless, there are some shortcom-
ings that are based on the tensions
that arose during the years of trials
and tribulations.
Sykes is an admirer of Chaim
Weizmann. He is in the main un-
biased. Yet there were irritants.
The hangings of "terrorists" that
took place in Palestine horrified
him, and by taking into account
the conditions that existed then
there might have been a diminu-
tion of irritation.
There is a negative note for
Zionism in Sykes' following as-
sertions:
"The reader may have detected
a villain in the drama, continually
there, taking part in every scene,
and he may have suspected that
the writer was growing obsessed
with this being. The name of the
villain is Zionist propaganda. There
can be no question of presenting
this being as truthful, disinterested
or concerned with pure justice,
yet it may be that some amends
are due. It has been mentioned
already that Jews have in the past
been extremely fearful of disap-
pearing from the world, and it is
a common Jewish opinion that they
very nearly did disappear through
assimilation in the 19th and early
20th Centuries. If the opinion can
be argued against without diffi-
culty-, the same cannot be said of
the related opinion that during and
after the Second World War the
Jews would have been in danger
either of disappearance or of total
degeneration, if they had not had
the stimulus of Zionism. Given a
gradual emergence of a Jewish
policy at the time of Nazi persecu-
tion, Zionism depended an propa-
ganda, and no propaganda can be
effective unless it is narrow in out-
look and single in purpose. It is
frequently forgotten that the Final
Solution was not only aimed at
Jews but equally at gypsies. They
had no Weizmann, no Ben-Gurion,
no gypsy agency to propagate their
cause. In Central Europe they vir-
tually did vanish, and even the ter-
rible fact of their destruction is
not much remembered. Few peo-
ple stop to mourn them. The propa-
ganda of the Zionists (unlike the
atrocities of the terrorists) can,
for all its imperfections, be de-
scribed as a historical necessity.
But among the winders of Israel
is the fact that a majority of the
younger generation seem to rec-
ognize fully that such a necessity
must be temporary or it must be-
come corrupting, and in the extra-
vagant way of youth young Israeli
men and women often describe
themselves as anti-Zionist. It is
perhaps their youthful violent way
of saying that they abjure the
tyranny of the official spokesman.
He is still powerful but he has
had his day."
It is such judgments that negate
a theme otherwise well presented
by Sykes. So to misinterpret Zion-
ist propaganda, in this fashion so
unrealistically to liken gypsies with
Jews, indicates a major fault in
this book.
But as an historical addendum
to Zionist, Jewish and Israeli his- ,7-)
tory, the Sykes book has mt,'
merit. There are some prejudk
They are the British projudic )
that affected the historian. In fi
tualness, as a literary-historicL__;
d o c u m e n t, Christopher Sykes'
"Crossroads to Israel" will be must
reading for students of Jewish his-
tory especially in the era that em-
braced British rule in Palestine.
Cold hand, warm heart—Amer.
proverb.
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.
for a portion. Sapir said he dis-
cussed the payment question and
mentioned the pressures on the
Israeli economy including Is-
rael's unique defense situation.
The Israeli Minister met with
Secretary of Agriculture Orville
Freeman, Administrator David
Bell of the U. S. Agency for In-
ternational Development, and
some officials of the State and
Treasury Departments. He ob-
tained an impression that they
understood the Israeli view on
the development loan and the
commodity purchases desired by
Israel. The sales agreement would
cover two years while the loan
would be extended in fiscal year
"The 12 days of Christmas"
by Joseph Kealauskas
1966.
Announcement was made by
Sapir that the Development Cor-
poration for Israel, the American
agency now selling Israel Bonds,
will extend its operations to
underwrite other Israel equities
beginning with the Industrial De-
velopment Bank of Israel and the
Israel Electric Corporation. Neces-
sary legal steps are being taken
by the Development Corporation,
he said.
American consumers spend more
than $250,000,000 yearly for hear-
ing aids and batteries. Yet, hear-
ing aids are the least understood
devices on the market. If you
have a hearing problem, see a
physician first. Let him determine
if a hearing aid is the correct
solution before investing your
money.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
8—Friday, December 24, 1965
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