The establishment of an American city (Kiryat America) in the Galilee for an initial population of 25,000 American immigrants, with an ultimate goal of 250,000, was proposed by Leon llutovich, former executive vice chairman of the Zionist Organization of America. He outlined his idea in an address to the national board of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI) in Tel Aviv last week.
Ilutovich said he had preliminary discussions about this project with Leon Dulzin, chairman of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization Executives, with Haim Aharon, head of the Jewish Agency’s immigration and absorption department, and with Irwin Field, chairman of the United Israel Appeal in the United States.
Ilutovich said that a recent survey commissioned by the American Jewish Committee showed that some 17 percent of the 5.5 million American Jews have seriously considered living in Israel. This, he said, was an American aliya potential of 935,000 people. He suggested that the number of 50,000 to 60,000 Americans and Canadians who have settled in Israel could therefore be increased considerably if an American city was built.
Such a city, Ilutovich suggested, planned and constructed by American architects and builders by American standards, conceived as “a home away from home” could help bridge the gap of social adjustment to Israel.
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