Pincus Presents 1964-65 Budget of Jewish Agency to Actions Committee

The 1964-65 budget of the Jewish Agency was presented here today to the Zionist Actions Committee, now in session here, by A. L. Pincue. the Agency’s treasurer. He stressed that “we should be delighted” over the continued peak of Jewish immigration to Israel, but he warned that the “burden of accumulated years” had nearly reached the breaking point.

The budget proposed expenditures of 340, 000, 000 pounds ($113, 033, 000) with 51 percent of that sum earmarked for immigration and absorption. This compared with an average of 38 per cent for those activities in the budgets of the past 15 years. Funds for agricultural settlements totaled 25 per cent of the budget, compared with an average of-45 percent in previous years.

He explained that the 1963-64 difficulties of immigration had been greater than anticipated because of the higher cost of the current immigration, averaging $300 per person and the higher cost of absorption, while, at the same time, the income of fund-raising campaigns had not reached expected levels,

In planning the 1964-65 budget, he said, it was necessary to reduce even the most just claims to insure the meeting of the essentials of foreseen immigration and other fields and activities. He noted that during the years of 1961, 1962 and 1963, immigration from the west was 3, 800, 4, 250 and 9, 000 of whom only about ton per cent left.

He said that he had been forced to reduce the settlement department budget, and this had the effect of slowing the rate of progress toward making settlements independent of allocations. Still, he reported, more than 100 of the 480 settlements receiving such allocations will reach their goal. He also reported that the percentage of allocations for work in Jewish communities outside of Israel went up “but in the light of the needs, there is a necessity for considerably more funds” for that purpose.