A total of $52,621,000, the bulk of which comprised contributions from American Jews, was spent last year by the United Palestine Appeal and its agencies in Palestine for the rehabilitation and resettlement of immigrants as well as for the over-all development of the country, according to a report made public today at an executive committee meeting of the U.P.A. by Dr. Israel Goldstein, national chairman.
Heading the list of the expenditures in the budget of the Jewish Agency was the cost of immigration which totalled $13,650,928 for an estimated 26,000 Jewish refugees who reached Palestine last year. Included in this sum is an expenditure of $3,224,911 for pre-migration aid and relief to refugees outside of Palestine as well as for their training abroad and transportation to Palestine. Care of immigrants on arrival which involves feeding, clothing and providing initial accomodations accounted for $2,745,434, while training of newcomers in Palestine cost $1,716,309.
To help cope with Palestine’s acute housing shortage accentuated by the steady influx of newcomers which has created considerably crowded conditions, the Jewish Agency allocated, within its immigration expenditures, $3,216,826 for construction of housing projects. Aside from private construction, 4,700 housing units were built last year with Jewish Agency help. The program for the current year provides for 7,295 housing units to accomodate between 12,000 and 13,000 people.
JEWISH NATIONAL FUND SPENT $16,000,000 FOR AGRICULTURAL WORK
For agricultural development the Agency spent $6,567,399, the major portion of which went for the establishment of new settlements and consolidation of those already in existence. Thirty-four new settlements were founded in 1946, bringing to three hundred and thirty the number of agricultural settlements in Palestine which played an important role in the absorption of newcomers. The Agency expended $3,076,190 for the resettlement of ex-servicement in agricultural and economic enterprises. Of the 20,000 Jewish servicemen demobilized last year, about 18,000 sought and received the services and aid of the Jewish Agency.
Complementing the agricultural development program of the Jewish Agency, the Jewish National Fund, whose activities are largely firanced by the U.P.A., expended $16,143,547, of which more than two-thirds, $11,025,339 went for land purchases. The balance covered a wide range of operations including afforestation, road construction, hydrological surveys, water supply, anti-malarial projects and general land amelioration.
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