The three-day International Inaugural Conference for Israel Bonds concluded here tonight with a dinner at which an initial sale of $26, 450, 000 in Israel bonds was announced towards the 1966 quota of $105, 000, 000 adopted at the conference yesterday by the more than 2, 000 Jewish leaders taking part from all over the United States.
The dinner was a tribute to Mrs. Golda Meir, Israel’s former Foreign Minister and a leading architect of its independence. Principal speakers at the dinner included George Meany, president of the AFL-CIO, and Ambassador James Roosevelt, American representative on the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The two speakers joined in urging the U.S. Government to offer wider economic and other forms of aid to Israel.
Mrs. Meir, addressing the delegates, said that Israel’s purpose remains “to develop the land only as a means to Jewish dignity and moral vitality and rebirth.”
“Tonight, as you celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Israel Bond Organization, I can tell you on behalf of the people of Israel, that we are happy you believed us when we said we would make good, when we said we would repay the bond, when we said that your faith in us would be redeemed, ” she said.
In announcing the 1966 goal, Samuel Rothberg, national campaign chairman of the Israel Bond Organization, outlined some of Israel’s key economic objectives which Israel bonds must help the country realize. He reported that the State of Israel will pay out more than $65, 000, 000 on maturing Israel bonds during 1966. Of this total, he said, $30, 000, 000 will become payable on one day — May 1st. These, he indicated, are the coupon bonds of the Independence Issue, the first issue of Israel bonds, which were purchased from 1951 to 1954. Savings bonds, Mr. Rothberg pointed out, will continue to mature each month as they have since May, 1963. Since that date, he said, a total of $107, 745, 300 has been paid out on maturing Israel bonds.
Louis H. Boyar, chairman of the Board of Governors of the Israel Bond Organization, drew attention to the fact that the Israel bond drive is now celebrating its fifteenth anniversary, and outlined some of the achievements which Israel bonds have helped make possible since 1951, when the campaign began. “In 1951, ” he said, “Israel’s population was 1,400, 000. By the end of 1965 it had reached 2, 600, 000. Israel bonds played a key role in absorbing 700, 000 immigrants who entered during that period.
DR. SCHWARTZ REPORTS SALE OF $91, 392, 800 IN ISRAEL BONDS DURING 1965
Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz, vice-president of the Israel Bond Organization, reported that a total of $91, 392, 800 in Israel bonds was sold during 1965. He told the 2, 000 assembled Jewish leaders that this constituted the highest sum in the history of the campaign. Of this amount, he said, $76,655,500 was sold in the United States; $5,460,750 in Canada; $4,162,750 in Latin America and $5,113, 800 in Western Europe. Purchases by banks accounted for $12, 000, 000 of the total.
Israel Bond Organization president Abraham Feinberg declared that the joint project of the United States and Israel for the construction of a nuclear-powered plant for the desalination of sea water is to be financed in large part by the proceeds from the sale of State of Israel bonds. Asserting that the plant would cost $200, 000, 000, Mr. Feinberg observed that no decision has yet been reached as to what portion of the required funds would be furnished by the United States. “We can be sure of one thing — that the greater part of the share that will be supplied by the Israel Government will have to come from Israel bonds, ” he stated.
Israel’s Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, in a message to the conference, declared that the coming year would witness a development phase “as critical as at any previous time in Israel’s history. ” He urged increased effort in the 1966 Israel bond campaign in order to help Israel meet a “crucial test of our basic development policies.” “Israel bonds contribute an integral part of the development budget, ” he said, “and as such make a vital contribution to the future growth and prosperity of the State of Israel. “
Israel’s Finance Minister Pinhas Sapir, said in a message to the conference that Israel bonds are “the nation’s largest single source of development funds, without which our vital industrialization, construction and expansion projects could not have been accomplished. ” He termed the record sale of more than $91, 300, 000 in Israel bonds in 1965, “a further sign of the mutual relationship of confidence and trust between Israel and the countries of the free world. “
Admission to tonight’s dinner was based on a purchase of a minimum of $1, 000 in Israel bonds. However, because of Israel’s 18th anniversary, many of the 2, 000 guests made their subscription in units of $1, 800 in honor of the Year of “Chai, ” the Hebrew word for 10 which also means “life. “
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