Ajcommittee Leader Proposes Plan to Attract U.S. Investments to Israel, Increase Israeli Exports to

The American Jewish Committee’s Board of Governors ended its 10-day meeting here yesterday–the first ever held in Israel–with a declaration that Israel’s survival “is a challenge not only to those who have made their home here, but to every Jew everywhere.”

The declaration stated; “We return to the U.S. with a determination to do everything possible to help all Americans understand the legitimacy of Israel’s case, to help provide the economic know-how and resources it so desperately needs, and to urge our own government to continue providing Israel the political and economic support it requires.”

Elmer Winter, AJCommittee president, proposed a new plan to attract American investments to Israel and increase Israeli exports to the United States. He called for the establishment of 20 regional “task forces” throughout the U.S. to encourage investments in Israel on a purely business basis. Winter said his study of the problems and his meetings with government officials here, manufacturers and businessmen convinced him that there are money-making opportunities in Israel for American business.

He noted that Israeli exports to the U.S. rarely went further than the Eastern seaboard, a situation that called for immediate remedies. Winter said he believed that the AJ Committee could play a key role in the establishment of the “task forces” because of the preponderance of businessmen and professionals among its membership.

A highlight of the AJ Committee’s deliberations was the dedication of the “Hanna Hirschhorn Baumann Collection of Americana” at the AJCommittee’s Jerusalem office last Friday, a gift of Mrs. Baumann, a member of the Board of Governors from Rye, New York. The collection consists of over 500 books and periodicals on American Jewish life which will be available to scholars and the general public at the AJ Committee Library here.