President Eisenhower today transmitted to Congress a report on the operation of the Mutual Security program which said “the tensions between Arab and Israeli have not abated, and only a precarious truce is maintained.”
The President’s report, which was for the six months ended December 31, 1953, said: “Boycott of Israeli goods and firms has been extended; the Arab refugee problem remains as a tragic barrier to regional harmony.” It noted that “dispute over the Jordan waters has stirred hatred and bitterness and has aggravated nationalism to a degree which threatens the possibility of cooperative development of this vital resource.”
The report recommended military aid to the Near East, stressing the importance of the countries possessing oil. The report did not list any particular Arab League state nor did it list Israel as a suggested recipient of such aid.
The Arab refugee problem, involving what was said to be 850,000 Palestinian Arab refugees, was described in the Presidential report in great detail. “These refugees,” said the report, “constitute a serious problem which is woven inextricably into the economic, social and political frictions that afflict the Near East.” It said this problem “remains as one of the principal unresolved issues between Israel and the Arabs.”
SAYS U. S. HELPS ISRAEL TO STABILIZE ITS ECONOMY
President Eisenhower considered “the most significant development” during the period covered by the report to be “the preparation of a plan for unified development of the Jordan Valley.” It was said that Mr. Eisenhower has now asked Eric Johnston to return to the area “for further discussion as soon as the governments complete their review.”
It was estimated in the report “that 240,000 acres of land, now idle and unproductive, can be put into production if the proposed development plan is accepted. Most of this land would yield three crops a year. In addition, more than 65,000 kilowatts of power could be made available to aid the industrial development of the area.”
The report told of how “Israel is helped to stabilize its economy” through special U.S. economic aid. Of the $26,000,000 made available in November, 1953, the report said that $20,500,000 worth of procurement authorizations were issued within two months. There was no indication as to whether or not Congress will be asked for economic assistance allocations for Israel for the next fiscal year.
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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.
