United Israel Appeal Agencies Spent $93,153,000 During Year

A total sum of $93,153,000–the largest single portion of which was provided by American Jews–has been spent during the past fiscal year, ending October 31st, by United Israel Appeal agencies for their immigration, rehabilitation and resettlement programs, Dewey D. Stone, national chairman, United Israel Appeal, said in a report to the board of directors meeting here tonight at a closed session.

Stressing that the “mounting pressure of events, particularly the growing influx of North African Jews, has increased expenditures,” Mr. Stone said that the costs of UIA projects during the past year exceeded the budget by more than $4,000,000. The UIA is the major beneficiary of the nationwide United Jewish Appeal and provides the greatest single portion of the funds for the program of its constituents, the Jewish Agency and the Keren Hayesod in Israel; the balance of their needs is made up by campaigns in other countries, loans and German reparations payments.

Mr. Stone warned that the government of Israel, “hard-pressed by the tightening grip of hostility from surrounding countries and threatened by heavy Czech armor, cannot assume entirely by itself the responsibility for the influx of needy Jews from North Africa. UIA agencies, which are charged with the task of receiving, rehabilitating and resettling immigrants, can no longer count on subsidies from the Israel government which necessarily means that our budget of needs will increase proportionately as it has during the past Jew months of this year. Economic dislocation caused by the inability to absorb the influx can weaken Israel and create a temptation for surrounding aggressor nations. American Jews can do no less than to help Israel receive to her shores Jews who are in need and in danger.”

The largest expenditure during the course of the past year–a total of $59,880,000–went for the category of agricultural settlement which includes establishing new villages, development of existing settlements, payment of past farming debts and the building and operation of irrigation networks, all of which are geared to the productive absorption of needy Jewish immigrants. Last year, Mr. Stone said, 28 new villages were set up and development aid was provided for 400 settlements created since the establishment of the State.

Mr. Stone reported that Israel’s agricultural production for the past year exceeded $200,000,000, a five percent increase above the previous year “which is particularly remarkable in view of the severe drought.” Industrial crops including cotton, peanuts, sugar-beet and tobacco, which are a comparatively new development for Israel’s agriculture, showed marked increases during the past year with close to half of the country’s raw cotton needs now filled domestically.

The UIA chairman urged “widespread and intensive support of the United Jewish Appeal’s $25,000,000 supplemental campaign which will make possible the effective integration of the 45,000 Jews coming to Israel from North Africa during the next year.”