The recent sale by the Israel Government of its holdings in the Fertilizers and Chemicals Company-of Haifa to an American private concern, which has been under sharp criticism from left-wing sources, came under fire today from a deputy of the Mapai party under whose auspices the sale was made.
David Hacohen, speaking during the debate in the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, on the Development Ministry’s budget, questioned the transaction and expressed doubts about it and about whether private ownership would provide the same initiative as had the Government. Previously Finance Minister Levi Eshkol, a Mapai Minister, had strongly defended the transaction against leftist criticism.
Mr. Hacohen argued that the sale of any state enterprise to private ownership should at least be brought up for consideration in the Knesset or before one of its committees, Shlomo Lorenz, an Agudat Israel deputy, asked why tenders had not been invited for purchase of the Haifa firm.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
