Israel expects to receive assistance from the United States Export-Import Bank that will cover 70 percent of the $35 million cost of a new Boeing 747 Jumbo jet and a Boeing 707 jet to be purchased by El Al, Israel’s national airlines, according to Zeev Sharef, Israel’s Minister of Finance, Commerce and Industry.
Mr. Sharef, who is visiting here, indicated after talks with financial authorities that the World Bank may reinstate Israel as a nation eligible for development loans. Israel had been disqualified from some forms of international assistance because its degree of development was considered too advanced. Reinstatement will depend upon project plans.
The Israeli minister met with Robert McNamara, president of the World Bank, and with William Sauer, first vice president of the Export-Import Bank. He also met with Secretary of the Treasury David Kennedy and Maurice Stans, Secretary of Commerce.
El Al will open a second passenger departure terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport on June 22 to relieve the congestion that is at its worst during the summer tourist season. According to Menachem Cohen, the airline’s vice president for North America, the new terminal will offer a temporary solution until the Port of New York Authority implements plans to expand the international arrivals and departure facilities at the airport. Mr. Cohen said that El Al transported 440,500 passengers in 1968 on its U.S., European and African route, a 42 percent increase over 1967.
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.
