Jewish Agency Covers First Payment on Israeli Loan; Bank Deposits Rise in Israel

The Jewish Agency yesterday deposited $2,000,000 in Israeli banks to cover ten percent of the $20,000,000 national internal loan which the Agency agreed on June 15 of this year to guarantee, Eliezer Kaplan, Israeli Finance Minister, told a press conference here today.

According to the terms of the Loan issue, one-tenth of the total was due to be repayed yesterday. The funds deposited consist in part of cash and in part of foreign exchange which can be used to pay for imports, as provided for in the terms of the issue.

Meanwhile, David Horowitz, Under Secretary for the Treasury, disclosed that the greatest part of the Israeli war budget has been raised internally, rather than from funds arriving from abroad. He announced that the major part of $150,000,000 needed to provide housing for immigrants next year is expected to come from abroad. He also said that bank deposits throughout the country have risen considerably during the past three months.

The Israeli State Council today received proposals from the Cabinet Education Committee calling for a national education budget of $6,400,000 and for the establishment of the first free education system in Jerusalem. The proposals of the Committee, headed by David Remez, Minister for Communications, would leave the country’s education system unchanged until after the Constituent Assembly meets next year.

One-half of the Israeli education budget will be met by the government and the remainder by the Jewish Agency. Local authorities will nearly double the government’s contribution, supplying $11,000,000. It is estimated that some 2,500 teachers will be needed to teach 80,000 elementary school pupils, including 3,000 newly arrived immigrant children. In Jerusalem the government will provide two-thirds of the education budget, while the municipality provides the remainder.