A statement by the Israeli Consul-General here explains the need for customs duties which friends and relatives in Israel receiving ? and clothing parcels from persons in the U.S. must pay. Announcing that the customs duty for standard food parcels varies from $1.20 to $1.60, while clothing ? subject to a tax of 35 percent,” the statement says in part:
“It must be understood that the people of Israel, having come through a critical and costly struggle for survival, are now living under and have readily accepted regime of severe austerity. Food is subject to rationing and all residents are restricted in the amount they may purchase. Clothing is being manufactured under a utility planning scheme. All people in Israel, making their fair contribution to the cost of war and reconstruction, are paying heavy taxes. Some of these taxes are redirect, since the prices of food and clothing reflect Import duties.
“It follows, therefore, that anyone who receives a gift parcel of food and Clothing from relatives outside the country may equitably be expected to assume the customs duty which the general population is called upon to pay. We believe that the people of Israel are determined to make their fair contribution to the country’s national existence and that accordingly, they understand the wisdom, equity and necessity of the import regulations in this period of emergency.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
