Israeli and American officials will sign tomorrow an agreement guaranteeing private loans totalling $50 million to finance the construction of approximately 11,000 homes for lower middle income families in Israel. The agreement will be signed at the State Department by Pinhas Sapir, Finance Minister of Israel, and John A. Hannah, administrator of the US Agency for International Development. The loans will be made by American savings and loan institutions to Tefahot, the Israel government controlled mortgage bank. Interest charges will be 71/2 percent. The loan to Israel is the largest made thus far under the AID program and is the first loan for housing made to Israel. The loan was negotiated in 12 months, the shortest time on record. Sapir is in the US for appearances at United Jewish Appeal and Israel Bond Organization rallies.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.