United States development fund loans to Israel for fiscal 1961 totaled $16, 000,000–an increase of $1,000,000 over the previous year–President Kennedy reported to Congress today.
But the President reported that U.S. technical assistance to Israel was reduced in fiscal 1961 to $1,000,000 as compared with $1,400,000 the previous year. The reduction in technical assistance, the President said, was the result of “the growth of technical competence in Israel.”
President Kennedy’s references to Israel were contained in his annual report to Congress on the U.S. Mutual Security Program. The lawmakers were also told that in addition to U.S. agricultural commodities for Israel totaling $25,900,000 during the last fiscal year, U.S. advisers and technicians continue to serve in Israel on highway and railway projects, as well as on programs for mineral and industrial development.
The report showed no U.S. military aid was provided to Israel in fiscal 1961, although four of the Arab neighbors–Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq–did receive such aid.
Lebanon received $172,000 worth of military aid from the U.S.A. in fiscal 1961, and was allocated $107,000 in that category for fiscal 1962. Jordan got military aid valued at $3,470,000 for fiscal 1961, and $1,511,000 for fiscal 1962. Iraq’s share was $32,000 in fiscal 1961, and $40,000 for fiscal 1962.
No figure for military aid to Saudi Arabia was mentioned in the President’s report. Defense Department circles said they did not know why such a figure was omitted, but thought it was possible that Saudi Arabia’s military aid share had been in the form of purchases, rather than in grants as applied to the other Arab neighbors of Israel.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives was preparing for debate on the big annual foreign assistance bill which has already cleared the Senate. The House version of the bill, which contains an amendment introduced by Democratic Congressmen Leonard Farbstein of New York requiring the Secretary of State to report annually to Congress on measures being taken to counter Arab discrimination against American Jews, was reported today to be awaiting a clearance by the House Rules Committee before coming to the House floor for action.
The Senate bill, passed last week, contains a similar amendment introduced by Republican Senator Jacob K. Javits of New York. The Javits amendment would also require annual reports on U.S. measures being taken against Arab discrimination but calls on the President to give such an accounting as part of his regular annual reports on foreign aid as is now required by present law.
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