Sen. Fulbright Visits Israel Resettlement Areas; Voices Enthusiasm

United States Senator J. W. Fulbright chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, voiced enthusiastic praise for Israel’s resettlement and development projects today, declaring such projects “can be–already are–a model to other countries.”

The Senator made that statement to an audience of Hebrew University professors and other guests when he visited the University this evening, after spending a day touring Israel by automobile and helicopter. He had Just returned from the Lachish area, where Israel is implementing one of its most ambitious regional development schemes.

During his tour, he also visited Kalmania, where a second group of 100 Burmese ex-servicemen had Just begun a year’s training in agricultural work. “Other people will learn from Israel’s experiences,” Mr. Fulbright told his Hebrew University audience, “I like to think that our country has made some contribution to this work in Israel.”

Mr. Fulbright seemed to be particularly impressed with the fact that immigrants from many lands are being integrated in the course of the Lachish regional development work, “Our American resettlement projects.” he stated, “failed, during the New Deal, because, while the United States had all material means, it lacked knowledge in regard to bringing together material resources and intellectual and spiritual resources. Israel, however, does have this know-how.”

After greeting the University faculty, and inspecting the Dead Sea scrolls there, Mr. Fulbright went to dinner at the home of Foreign Minister Golda Meir. There he was to meet Prime Minister David -Ben-Gurionand they were expected to discuss “substantive” natters concerning Israeli-Arab relations. The Senator and the Prime Minister met for a half hour in the latter’s office here last night. But in that talk, they confined their exchange to general world and domestic Israeli affairs,