Mordecai Bentov, Mapam Minister for Development, charged today that the Israeli Government was selling control in a government-owned fertilizer and chemical plant to private American investors for half the value of the plant. In addition, he said, the government was allowing the Americans to cash in bonds to provide the capital for the plant purchase.
Mr. Bentov, who lost an appeal within the Cabinet against the decision to sell the plant, has obtained the support of Achdut Avoda, the other left-wing Socialist party in the coalition, and plans to take his fight to other public bodies.
The Minister asserted that the plant is worth 45,000,000 pounds and is being sold for 20,000,000. He called the sale a “very serious step” and a piece of “extraordinary generosity” on the part of the Treasury. He stressed that the sale of the plant affected his Ministry’s jurisdiction and pointed out that firms linked with other ministries had not been offered for sale to private interests.
Mr. Ben Tov issued a warning that the decision to sell the government interests in the fertilizer and chemical company might force the Mapam party to withdraw from the coalition Cabinet. At the same time, the Mapam secretariat said today that the proposal was a violation of the coalition agreement which, the secretariat asserted, stipulates that nationalized industries must remain under control of the state. It was also announced that the Mapam’s central committee would meet Wednesday to discuss the Cabinet decision to sell the plant.
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.
