Cultural centers are to be established in 50 Arab villages in Israel by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, it was announced tonight by foundation president Samuel Rubin, speaking before a gathering of 200 friends and leaders of the foundation at a dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The construction of these buildings will be an extension of a three-year building program recently undertaken by the Foundation for such centers.
“It is through extended exchanges between nations that we can hope to preserve the institutions and accomplishments that man has achieved,” Mr. Rubin said. He called for intensified support of Israel’s efforts for communication and understanding between herself and her Asian and African neighbors. Responding to his appeal, guests who had pledged their annual support for the overall program of the Foundation also underwrote 100 additional grants at a value of $2,000 each. The awards will be given for study in Israel to postgraduate students from Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Iran, Thailand, Greece Japan, Turkey, and other countries.
Mr. Rubin announced that a team of sociologists had been delegated by the Middle East Fellowship Fund to make a special study of the cultural needs of the Arab villages and arrange for training of an Arab cultural leader in each village. The purpose of the program, Mr. Rubin said, is to enable these villages to keep pace with the expanding cultural and economic development of the country.
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