“We earnestly hope that the appeal which we addressed to the Soviet Government will be supported by the free world and that a substantial number of Jews will be allowed to go to Israel,” Dr. Dov Joseph, Israel Minister of State, declared today at a press conference held at the Israel Consulate here.
“From the very first days of the establishment of the State of Israel we have been greatly concerned over the fate of the 2,500,000 Jews in Soviet Russia who were cut off from normal relations with us and other Jewish communities,” Dr. Joseph stated. “Throughout this period we have entertained the hope that the Soviet Government would relax its ban on emigration and permit those Jews who want to leave, to find a new home in our midst in Israel.”
The Israel Minister emphasized that the purpose of his visit to the United States is “to conver to our American friends the urgency of the need for more investment dollars to enable us to exploit the opportunities for greater economic development.” He said that some people in Israel are now unemployed and that Israel’s large development projects are not in a position to work at their full capacity because of the shortage of investment capital.
“During the past year we have had an opportunity to embark on a program of economic consolidation” he stated. “But this program is now at a crucial turning point. Our future is bound up with our economic timetable. And our economic timetable is geared in a great measure to the success of the Israel Bond drive in the United States.”
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