A report on the progress made to date in the Israel-German negotiations was issued here today by Gershon Avner, of the Israel delegation, in the first informative briefing given to the press since the renewal of the Israel-German talks on June 24th.
The work thus far has been confined entirely to two subcommittees–one on the goods to be provided by Germany to Israel, and the other a legal subcommittee to draw up an agreement between the two countries. The more active of the two, Mr. Avner said, is the goods committee. He explained that the general procedure is for the Israel delegates to ask for certain specific goods and for the Germans to determine what is available and when it can be shipped.
Although more than half of the goods committee’s job is completed. Mr. Avner said that “there is still much to be done since the problem of goods is so complicated and by its very nature entails protracted discussions.” What Israel gets in initial shipments, he said, is very important. “We are concentrating on the so-called development of goods for which we have the greatest immediate need,” he declared, adding that the Germans are aware of the priority of this type of goods. “They specifically offered to provide goods designed to aid in the development of Israel.” he revealed.
About one-third of the legal committee’s work has been accomplished, Mr. Avner reported. This committee, he stated, is necessarily behind the goods committee, “since much of what will go into the final agreement depends on the decisions of the goods committee.” Thus far, he said, the legal committee has been working on general clauses, which can be decided on before the list of goods and the time of delivery have been settled.
Asked whether this did not signify the acceptance of the German offer of $715,000,000, Mr. Avner replied: “We are negotiating on the basis of that offer, but we have not necessarily accepted it. That will depend not only on the sum of money offered, but also on the type of goods which Germany makes available and on the time in which these goods can be delivered.”
“No spectacular results can be announced for the present,” he continued. “It is a slow, painstaking job but we are making definite progress. We have an advantage over the Germans in that we have spent the last two months drawing up the list of goods we want. In many cases, the Germans now need time to find out whether they can provide these goods.”
It is understood here that Germany is willing to turn over to Israel some of its credit in the European Payments Union, so that part of the payment of the total sum can be in goods from other countries.
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.
