A record total of $54, 088, 850 in State of Israel bonds for the economic development of the State of Israel was sold during 1956, Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz, vice president of the Israel Bond Organization, reported last night at the opening session of a two-day meeting of the organization’s board of governors here, attended by more than 300 key Jewish communal leaders. The board decided to launch a campaign to sell $75, 000, 000 in bonds in 1957.
The 1956 sum, the largest in any one year since the inception of the Israel bond drive, brings the total since May, 1951, when the bond drive began, to $270, 667, 200, Dr. Schwartz said. The 1956 figure, he pointed out, constitutes an increase of $11, 787, 400, or 28 percent over the 1955 total of $42,301, 450 in Israel bond sales.
“The achievement of this unparalleled record in Israel bond sales,” Dr. Schwartz stated, “reflects the profound desire of American Jewry to strengthen Israel’s economic deafness at this time of serious crisis. At a moment when Israel is confronted with historic problems relating to her entire future, the importance of Israel bond funds in maintaining her economic structure and carrying forward her development program cannot be exaggerated.”
Abraham Feinberg, president of the Israel Bond Organization, referred to the 1956 record of Israel bond sales as a “heartening demonstration that the Jews of America are eager to strengthen their partnership with Israel in the most concrete and helpful way.”
GOLDA MEIR APPEALS FOR INTENSIVE SALE OF BONDS IN 1957
Mrs. Golda Meir, Israel’s Foreign Minister, addressing the session, said that the suggestions made by Israel for the elimination of the blockade of the Suez Canal and the Straits of Tiran and the prevention of a recurrence of fade-in attacks from Gaza and Sinai will lead to a “de facto peace which would pave the way for a permanent peace settlement” in the Middle East. At the same time, she warned against the possibility of a renewal of hostilities between Israel and the Arab states, and said: “It is vital that the outstanding problems between Israel and the Arab states should not be handled in a way that would involve us in a gamble with or risk of new hostilities.”
Urging a more intensive campaign for Israel bonds in 1957, Mrs. Meir declared: “I cannot see any possibility of meeting the pressing economic problems arising from the present situation and our extraordinary immigration needs without a far more intensive campaign for Israel bonds this year.”
Dr.Schwartz told the conference that “Israel must have the kind of economic strength that is essential for the absorption of the large number of immigrants who are expected during this year, particularly those fleeing anti-Jewish actions in Egypt and unrest in Hungary and other parts of Eastern Europe.” He said that it is conservatively estimated that Israel will receive at least 80, 000 refugees during 1957 and this figure may well reach 100, 000.” An accelerated flow of Israel bond capital is indispensable to the absorption of these newcomers, he stressed.
In his address to the Board members. Mr. Feinberg stressed the decisive importance of the economic advances which Israel bonds have made possible. “Since the bond drive began,” he said, Israel’s industrial production has more than doubled, rising in value by 125 percent. Agricultural output has increased by 119 percent during the same period. Copper, oil and other mineral resources are being discovered and exploited; roads, harbors and railways are being built. Despite the difficulties of the past year, many sectors of Israel’s economy have shown outstanding advances during 1956,” Mr. Feinberg stressed.
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.
