Israel Post Office Sharply Increases Rates on Correspondents Cables

Foreign press correspondents stationed here indicated today that the flew of news from this country to Britain the United States and other overseas points may be sharply curtailed as a result of a seven fold increase in the basic press cable rate announced by the Israel Post officer.

The new rates which took effect a of the first of this month, increase the press rate from Israel to London from the equivalent of $0,007 per world to the equivalent of $0,0525 per word. International relax rates–a system used by many newspapers to transmit their news dispatches from Israel–were increased by about 50 percent.

Most correspondents here have transmitted their news copy by way of London to take advantage of the continuing Commonwealth preference rate that had prevail until this month. This was the old British rate of “a penny a word, anywhere in the Commonwealth.” Eighteen months ago, the British authorities eliminated Israel, South Africa and newly Independent African republics from the Commonwealth rate system, establishing a $0.055 rate from London to Israel. The Israel authorities retaince the penny a word basic rate to London reduced through the Israel pound devaluation to $0.007.

In the general revision of rates which followed the devaluation, the authorities, instead of maintaining the low rate: encourage a flow of news, raised the rate to conform with the higher London Tel Aviv charge. The higher Telex rate offset the devaluation of the Israel pound.

(In London, the Jewish Chronicle protsted strongly against the Israel Post office action. It note editorally that “with the Arabs working hard to get their point of view over the ” Western parts” and communications media,” the Israel. “decision was” All sighted The paper aid the action will not increase Postoffice revence, It will merely cut down gambling from Israel to a trickle.”)