Arrangements have been made for the granting of mortgages on dwellings in Israel to immigrants from Canada, it was announced here today by the Zionist Organization of Canada.
According to Lou Harris, Canadian chairman of the Zionist Organization’s newly established Mortgage Loan Fund, the ZOC hopes that the new arrangements, which should ease considerably the purchase of housing by Canadian immigrants, “would lead to increased emigration of Canadian Jews to Israel.”
Under the arrangements, the General Mortgage Bank at Tel Aviv will grant mortgage loans on homes anywhere in Israel to purchasers who can prove they were born in Canada, hold a Canadian passport or have lived in Canada for five years or more. The bank will lend up to 60 per cent of the value of a home bought by such immigrants to a maximum of 24, 000 Israeli pounds ($8, 000). Loans may run for a maximum of 15 years, with an option of omitting payments on the principal for the first three years.
A special Israeli committee will represent the Zionist Organization of Canada to assist these arrangements. Members of the committee, all of whom are Canadians, are Lionel Freeman, of Haifa; Edward Gelber and Sam Hurwich, of Jerusalem; and Manny Kreicer, of Tel Aviv. The Association of Canadians and Americans in Israel has volunteered to aid applicants for mortgage loans under these arrangements, Mr. Harris said.
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