For the first time in history, the Israeli flag was hoisted over a vessel in American waters today as the Jewish state acquired a yacht which will ply the Mediterranean. The “Viking” was donated to Israel by Bernard Redins, of this city, as “an expression of sympathy with the establishment of a democratic and progressive state by the Jewish people.”
Israeli envoy to the United States Eliahu Epstein took possession of the yacht, raised the Israeli flag and announced that the trim, 48-foot vessel will be used as an Israeli harbor craft. About 30 prominent Washington officials in Zionist organizations and members of the Israeli mission here witnessed the ceremony. They heard Epstein reaffirm the ancient historical tradition of Jews as mariners.
Rep. Emanuel Celler, in a letter to Secretary of State George C. Marshall, charged today that Marshall is partly responsible for the inaction of the Export-Import Bank in granting the $100,000,000 loan to Israel, His letter challenged State Department explanations that no loan is immediately forthcoming because the subject is still under exhaustive study.
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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.
