About 40 institutions in Israel will benefit from the $3, 516, 667 approved yesterday by the House of Representatives for distribution in Israeli currency, it was learned here today. The money is now on deposit in Israel and its distribution for Israeli scientific and humanitarian projects aims to foster closer relations between the peoples of Israel and the United States.
The program has been recommended to the Congress for authorization as a result of a report and recommendations made by Bernard Katzen, Special Consultant to the State Department, who went to Israel at the request of the Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. Mr. Katzen was asked by the Secretary to investigate and make recommendations with regard to a fund in Israeli pounds built up under the Informational Media Guaranty Program which permits countries having a shortage of foreign exchange to import books, periodicals and other informational media from the United States through regular commercial channels. Under this program, foreign importers in countries with soft currencies can make payment to the American exporter in local currency and the exporter can exchange the local currency for dollars upon application to the U. S. Information Agency.
Under the recommended program, there would be established chairs in American studies at Israel’s major universities, and scholarship funds for studies in fields that will contribute to closer U.S. -Israel understanding. Assistance is also proposed toward the construction of cultural and community halls at such centers as Tel Aviv, Haifa, Nazareth and in Galilee. Quarters would be supplied for a United States information center and library at Tel Aviv, thus saving a future expenditure of money from new tax funds. A wing is recommended to house an American law library for the Israel Bar Association, as a means to promote an understanding of the American legal system.
Assistance would be given in the translation and publishing of books, a substantial portion of which would be American textbooks and technical manuals. It is recommended that a museum be constructed for the display of arts and antiquities, and provision has been made for archaeological research and exploration. Several projects would promote the teaching and use of the English language, while others are designed to introduce courses in American history and literature. The program as a whole has thus been designed to reach all walks of Israeli cultural life and humanitarian interests.
The recommendations include 200, 000 Israeli pounds for the Hebrew University; 190, 000 pounds for the Hadassah Medical Organization; 250, 000 pounds for the Haifa municipality; 300, 000 pounds for the Haifa Technion; 75, 000 pounds for the Weizmann Institute of Science; 75, 000 for the Zionist Organization of America; 85,000 pounds for the Kfar Silver Agricultural Training Institute; 200, 000 for the University of Tel Aviv, and 125,000 for Bar-llan University.
The sum of 1, 500, 000 is also provided in the report for the Israel-American Museum Foundation; 600, 000 pounds is recommended for the Israel-American Archaeological Foundation; 400, 000 pounds for translation and publication programs in which the Rabbi Kook Foundation, the World Academy of Higher Jewish Studies and the ORT are participating; 390, 000 pounds for Chinuch Atzmai, an elementary education system; 250, 000 pounds for Community Centers in Nazareth and Kiryat Shmoni; and many other smaller sums for other institutions, including 45, 000 pounds for HIAS, 50, 000 for the YMCA, and 50, 000 for the Herzliah High School in Tel Aviv.
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