The two-day Economic Conference sponsored by the Zionist Organization of America with several hundred leading American industrialists and businessmen from all parts of the country in attendance, closed today with the adoption of a comprehensive economic program to mobilize the manpower and resources of the ZOA for the fullest encouragement and promotion of private investment and capital in Israel.
The program was formulated by Dr. Irving Miller, president of the ZOA, on the basis of the discussions at panels devoted to private investments, trade promotion and tourism. The major objectives of this program are: To increase U.S. investments in Israel industry, trade and agriculture; to promote capital imports of goods and cash into Israel; to promote Israel’s exports to the United States; to improve conditions for trade between the United States and Israel; to utilize American experience and skills in industry and agriculture for the benefit of Israel’s economy; and to promote good will between businessmen in both countries.
Herman L. Weisman was named chairman of the newly established ZOA Economic Committee for the Economic and Industrial Development of Israel, which is charged with implementing the program formulated and adopted by the conference. The establishment of an American-Israeli Chamber of Commerce by the Israel Manufacturers Association, the Israel Chamber of Commerce and the Israel Farmers’ Federation, and the establishment of a ZOA tourist department to promote tourism to Israel was also announced.
In presenting the program, Dr. Irving Miller, ZOA president, declared that “this does not involve economics alone, for Israel’s political survival is inseperable from her economic problems.” He warned that “until these problems have been definitely solved, Israel’s enemies will continue to scheme for her destruction, hoping to achieve through economic strangulation what they failed to accomplish by military aggression and political maneuvering.”
ISRAEL GOVT. MAY LIFT FOREIGN CURRENCY CONTROLS, MINISTER SAYS
Dr. Peretz Bernstein, Israel’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, last night reaffirmed–in an address to the conference–the State of Israel’s goal to attain “economic self-sufficiency in terms of “sufficient production to satisfy the needs of its population either by direct production for home consumption or by such exports as would finance the needed import.” Outlining the economic problems confronting the State of Israel. Dr. Peretz Bernstein declared that “the basic problem of Israel’s economic and financial weakness is an unnaturally big gap between production and consumption until now insufficiently bridged by foreign aid in various forms.”
“In order to attract and facilitate foreign investment we have decided on a number of measures conducive to the attainment of this aim, ” Dr. Bernstein said. He revealed that “a number of the most important fields, until now considered as the domain of state enterprise, will be thrown open to foreign investment.” He said also that the possibility of lifting government control on foreign exchange at least partly is seriously being studied and that the government is “very much alive to that necessity.”
Sa muel W. Anderson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Affairs, asserted last night that Israel could make strong strides toward a balanced economy if her leaders would sacrifice some “of the desirable but costly cultural benefits them produce the goods with which they can fight effectively the battle of exchange.” From 1948 to 1952, Mr. Anderson noted, about $1,000,000,000 in loans, gifts, grants and direct investments flowed into Israel, most of if from the United States.
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