Zionist Testimony for $150,000,000 Grant Well Received by Congressional Committee

Testimony of Zionist spokesmen Thursday evening on the need for the proposed $150,000,000 grant-in-aid for Israel was received with indications of almost general agreement by members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. As a matter of fact, some committee members pointed out reasons why the U.S. should aid Israel which were overlooked by the Zionist spokesmen, although the Zionist testimony was considered to be one of the most excellent and comprehensive presentations of information about Israel ever made before a committee of Congress.

The Congressmen said the testimony gave them a better understanding of Israel’s needs in connection with the appropriations bill for the Mutual Security Program. It is expected that the amount Israel will get (the $23,500,000 mentioned by the State Department or the $150,000,000 provided for in the grant-in-aid bill) may be known in mid-August when the measure is drawn up.

A.A. Berle, Jr., former Assistant Secretary of State, appeared as a witness before the Committee and submitted testimony on his impressions of the world situation. Mr. Berle pointed out the dangers of Communism to the Near East and said Israel was very much worth preserving. He predicted that Israel “over a long period of time” would raise the living standards of the entire area.

Robert Nathan, an economic expert on the Near East, outlined to the Committee why aid is necessary not only for Israel but also for the Arabs and for the area as a whole. He traced the economic background of Israel and explained why the grant is needed.

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Foreign Affairs Chairman James P. Richards, of South Carolina, commended Nathan, Louis Lipsky, and Dr. Joseph Schwartz on their testimony. He told Mr. Lipsky that the Zionist point of view was ably presented. When Dr. Schwantz mentioned the concentration camps in the course of his statement, Rep. Richards interrupted to say that he had visited the camps in 1945 as a member of a Congressional committee. “And they were more terrible than anything I ever saw,” he commented.

Rep. James G. Fulton, of Pennsylvania, pointed out that Israel has taken a burden off the U.S. Treasury and that he favored the Israel request. He said that in the Pittsburgh area the Jewish community supported not only the U.J.A. but also the local charities from which, he said, the Gentiles were the principal beneficiaries.

Rep. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., told the Committee of his visit to Israel and said “the free world has a showcase in Israel which displays what democracy can do.” He added: “This bill is in the national interest of the U.S. and its people.” Another Committee member, Rep, Edna F. Kelly, of New York, said she was shocked by the persecution of European Jewry. “This report tonight,” she said, “makes us wonder if we are living in a civilized world.”

House Republican Leader Joseph W. Martin, Jr., of Massachusetts, urged the adoption by the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the grant-in-aid bill for Israel, in the amount of $150,000,000, which the committee is now considering in the wake of testimony of Zionist leaders. Rep. Martin emphasized “there is no doubt in my mind that to help Israel is to make America more secure.”

Assistant Secretary of State George C. McGhee, testifying before the Committee, said that the United States may soon give $40,000,000 in arms aid to Israel and the Arab states to combat anti-Western sentiment and “neutralism” in the Near East.