Names of 11 American Cities Inscribed on New Israel Railroad

Eleven American cities were today honored by having their names inscribed on rails of the first railroad to be completed since the State of Israel was proclaimed five years ago. The Jewish communities of these cities were cited by Communications Minister Joseph Saphir for their contributions to the Israel bond campaign in the United States, the proceeds from which made possible the completion of the new Haifa-Tel Aviv Line.

Representatives of the 11 communities participated in the opening of the new line at ceremonies at Kfar Viking. The representative of each city drove the last spike of the rail on which his city’s name was incised. The 11 cities are: Philadelphia, Camden, Passaic, Minneapolis, Baltimore, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Newark and Washington, D.C. Bond sales in these cities provided 1,700,000 Israeli pounds used for completing the line.

Mrs. David Remez, widow of the late Israeli Communications Minister, cut the ribbon officially opening the line which runs 58 miles between Israel’s two major coastal cities and which links Herzlia and Nathanya and other growing industrial centers with the country’s two ports. It is also planned to operate three daily passenger trains in each direction and thus provide low cost transportation for an estimated 3,000 persons daily.

Before the ceremonies, Minister Saphir cabled the mayors and bond chairmen of the 11 U.S. cities and told them that inscribing the names of their cities on the rails symbolized the “bonds of friendship between the peoples of Israel and America.”