1976 is Israel’s Self-help Year

Zev Sher, Israel’s Economic Minister in the United States, speaking at the 10th annual conference of the Israel Histadrut Foundation today, said that “1976 is Israel’s self-help year.” Sher emphasized “there is no crisis in Israel but its problems are severe and require more than the usual corrective measures suggested in economic text books.”

He stated that Israel would try to achieve economic self-sufficiency by the mid-1980s when it would no longer require substantial American assistance. Israel’s economic problems stem from two sources, he said, its heavy military needs and the impact of the Arab boycott which has made it more difficult to find foreign markets. Countering this, Israel is seeking customers in the European Common Market and the United States, where the American Jewish community can help promote the sale of Israeli goods, Sher said.

Sher stated that drastic economies being instituted by the Israel government will result in the closing of a thousand classrooms in the public school system and a 10 percent budget cut for institutions of higher learning; subsidies to Kupat Holim for hospital services are being cut and fees for medicine will be charged. Especially severe will be the reduction in the program for housing for young couples.

FORD ADMINISTRATION CRITICIZED

Speaking to more than 1000 persons last night, Simon Weber, editor of the Jewish Daily Forward, criticized the Ford Administration for squeezing out Daniel P. Moynihan from his post as United Nations Ambassador and for proposing former Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton as his replacement. He recalled that Scranton had proposed an “even-handed policy” which in essence was unfavorable to Israel.

Weber also sharply criticized Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger for preventing a major Israeli victory during the Yom Kippur War. He said Kissinger did not understand either the Arabs or Israel. “While Mr. Kissinger is not an enemy of Israel, he does not know where his policy is leading,” he said.