Israel bonds totalling the sum of $15,450,000 were sold here today at the closing session of a three-day conference which marked the launching of the 1957 campaign to raise a minimum of $75, 000, 000 for Israel through the sale of bonds. Israel Rogosin, New York industrialist, subscribed today to $1, 000, 000 worth of bonds, the largest purchase in the history of the Israel bond campaign, which started in May, 1951.
Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz, executive vice-president of the Israel Bond Organization, told the 2, 000 guests from all parts of the country, that “the 1957 Israel bond campaign must raise a minimum of $75, 000, 000 if Israel’s economic stability is to be maintained at a time when the country must absorb a greatly increased flow of newcomers. He reported that between May, 1951 and the end of 1956, Israel bond sales totalled $270,667, 200. These bonds, he emphasized, provide more than one-third of funds for Israel’s financing now that other sources of development capital have been curtailed or eliminated.
Former President Truman, who was the guest speaker at a dinner of the conference last night honoring Eddie Cantor, said that unless the United Nations can protect Israel from murdering gangs and end the illegal blockade of its ports, “it is not morally justified in asking Israel to give up the means of protecting itself from them. “
Mr Truman lashed out at the Eisenhower Doctrine as “too little and too late” although he called it a beginning of U.S. action in a situation “dark and full of peril.” The former President scored the Administration’s inaction in recent years in getting the Arab-Israel issue settled and leaving an area for Soviet exploitation. As a result of “drift and procrastination, ” he continued, not only is Israel in danger but the threat has spread to Europe and is undermining the West.
“The time is long overdue,” continued Mr. Truman, “for our government to adopt a clear and vigorous policy in the Middle East–to use its influence and power to bring peace, to make known where it stands, and above all to work together with its friends and allies. ” He also asserted that “we won’t get anywhere with this Middle East situation unless we go to the root of the trouble. “
Reviewing his Administration’s record in the creation of the State of Israel, he said it was consistent with policy with respect to other peoples in the area and ”was not an act of favoritism. ” He noted that since 1922 Congress had been on record as favoring the establishment of a Jewish homeland.
Mr. Truman said that for Israel, Americans have “admiration and gratitude. Admiration for their will to exist in spite of all obstacles, and gratitude for giving us our moral code. ” He insisted that Americans look on Israel “not only as a great humanitarian enterprise, but also as a part of the Middle East. “
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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.
