American aid to Israel since the proclamation of the State has totaled almost $670,000,000, John Haggerty, Chief of the United States Mission in Israel, reported in a speech to the Rotary club here.
He said this sum broke down into $12,800,000 in technical aid; $291,200,000 in special assistance, mostly grants or gifts; $20,000,000 in Development Loan funds; $162,500,000 in Export-Import Bank Loans; $131,000,000 in agricultural commodities sales and $52,300,000 in food gifts.
In another breakdown, he said that 23 percent of the total went to agricultural development, 18 percent to irrigation, 27 percent to mining and industry, four percent to transportation, nine percent for electric power and 19 percent for various health, housing and public works projects.
Stressing American help to the Negev, Haggerty pointed out that 6,000,000 Israel pounds from American funds were spent on agricultural schools and experimental stations, $3,000,000 for afforestation in the Negev, $15,000,000 for irrigation which included the Yarkon and the Negev, $10,000,000 for housing, $10,000,000 for developing mines and the Dead Sea works.
He said smaller sums had been granted for roads, electric lines and communications, including $10,000,000 for expanding a railroad to the inner Negev. The funds provided by the recently-signed $5,000,000 Development Loan, he stated, would be used for loans to small business enterprises which must get equipment or materials abroad.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
