American Jewry will stand behind Israel regardless of what Assistant Secretary of State Henry A. Byroade says, Dov Joseph, Development Minister, today told a press conference here. He was commenting on Sec. Byroade’s recent advice to Israel not to regard itself as a center of world Jewry, but as a Middle East state.
The Minister, who recently visited the United States, declared that American Jewry is devoted to Israel and noted that many American Jewish leaders give all their spare time and even a portion of their business day to volunteer work for Israel in a spirit, he asserted, which is “not even found in Israel.”
Dr. Joseph outlined the activities in America to attract investment capital to Israel in such industries as electric power, oil and fertilizer production. He said the government would be willing to sell its interests in these large corporations whenever private capital is interested in investing in them.
While he was optimistic about the possibilities of finding commercially exploitable oil deposits, he warned the public against raising its hopes on oil. He revealed that the government was planning to place orders soon with Germany for equipment to be used in extracting copper from Negev ores and bromides from Dead Sea minerals. He estimated that within a few years, the Dead Sea potash works would be earning $5, 000, 000 to $6, 000, 000 annually for Israel.
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.
