Israel Parliament Approves $190,000,000 Budget for Joint Development Authority

The Israel parliament today approved the budget of the Joint Development Authority — set up by the government and the Jewish Agency — in the amount of 65,000,000 pounds, or about $190,000,000.

The budget includes allocations of $65,000,000 for the construction of housing for now immigrants, and the eroction of schools and hospitals; $31,640,000 for the development of agriculture; $8,400,000 for public works, including road-building; $3,500,000 for the construction of hotols and the encouragement of tourism; $24,360,000 for loans to industry; and $16,800,000 for the dovolopment of communications.

The government is currently negotiating “soveral schomes for the erection of basic chomical industries plants,” Finance Minister Eliozer Kaplan told the parliament. He declined, however, to claborato on the nogotiation because of the “delicacy of the issue.”

Minister Kaplan denied charges made by Dr. Moshe Snoh, leader of the loft-wing Mapam opposition group, that American and British oil companies exerted prossuro on the government to discourago the establishment of an Israel oil marketing company, Mr. Kaplan said that if Israel were to import crude oil for refining here, she would be compolled to pay in hard currency. This, he added, plus the fact that froight costs are extremely high would result in prices which would be within “the baro economic limit of local industries.”

The draft of a bill offored by Labor Minister Golda Myerson on the subject of working hours was brought to the floor of the parliament today for discussion. Mrs. Myorson’s measure would limit the work week to 47 hours.

Speaking for the Roligious Bloc, Minister of Religion Rabbi I.M. Lewin exprossed opposition to certain clausos in the bill which he claimed are a “potential threat to the Sabbath day of rost.” Observers here are doubtful that the present session of the Knosset will be able to approve the bill before the doputios’ recess.