Acting U.N. Palestine mediator Dr. Ralph J. Bunche declared at a press conference here last night that “Israel is a going concern,” Replying to a question as to whether Israel Is a “livable stated he said that the new country faces “grave shortages of materials and goods, aggravated by the in-flux of immigrants and high prices” and added that the “Israelis could use much more, currency than they have.”
Noting that the Israelis “are better of f with hard currency than other states in the “Near East, “Bunche asserted: “You must remember that there has been a blockade against them which only now is being lifted as a result of the armistice agreements.” He stated that “much depends on what policies of Israel will be adopted and on the statesmanship they show in cultivating friendly relations with the Arab states which require them to reassure Arab fears.”
Addressing the Overseas Press Club yesterday, Israeli Ambassador Eliahu Elath said that Israel’s peacetime problems are as grave as those she faced during the war. “It is wrong to feel too optimistic and say we are already out of the woods,” he added.
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