Finance Minister Pinhas Sapir declared Thursday night that Israel. as a country which is in need of investments from abroad, could not permit nationalizations of any private industry. The Finance Minister’s criticism was aimed at a remark made earlier last week by Itzhak Ben Aharon, the outspoken secretary general of the Histadrut, that Israel should nationalize Israel’s biggest banks.
Sapir noted that of Israel’s three largest banks, only one, the Discount Bank, was privately owned. He said the Bank Leumi is a publicly-controlled enterprise which was founded by the Zionist Organization, and that the Bank Hapoalim is controlled by the Histadrut.
Sapir also said he welcomed the establishment of the First International Bank in Israel with American and British funds. He said no one should belittle an investment of $24 million. He also disclosed that by next year, Israelis going abroad would be permitted an increase in foreign currency to around $500 compared with the present $350.
NEWS BRIEFS
The fertility rate of Jewish mothers in Britain is one-fifth lower than for mothers in the general population according to statistics presented Sunday at the monthly meeting of the Board of Deputies of British Jews in London. An exception is the small ultra-Orthodox community where the fertility rate is substantially higher than for the rest of British Jewry. Other statistics culled by a demographic research unit of the Board showed that 81% of Anglo-Jewish marriages in 1971 took place in Orthodox synagogues, virtually the same as in the period 1961-65 and 1966. Eleven percent of Jewish marriages took place in Reform synagogues and 8% in synagogues of the Liberal movement.
Nearly all of the 100 Arabs taken into custody following an explosion Friday in the Bank Hapoalim in Nathanya have been released, it was announced Sunday. The blast caused no serious casualties and did minor damage. Some people suffered shock when a device containing a half kilogram of explosives detonated in the bank. One person was bruised by falling plaster. Police investigating the explosion said most of the Arabs detained Friday were held in protective custody for fear of possible reprisals by Israeli youths. Except for a few minor incidents the fears proved groundless. The public actually sheltered Arabs near the scene of the blast until the police arrived.
Twenty-one Jewish emigrants from Eastern Europe, comprising eight family units, arrived at Kennedy Airport during the past week, it was announced by United Hias Service, which aided all of the newcomers in their migration to this country. They were reunited with relatives in Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas and Greater New York. Of the arrivals, 18 were from the Soviet Union. Four of the 21 entered the US through the parole authority of the US Attorney General.
A concert by members of the Tel Aviv Conservatory scheduled for Saturday night in the mining town of Kerkrade. Holland, on the Dutch-West German border, was cancelled by the Mayor for lack of sufficient security measures.
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.
