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Year by year Israel is moving
tapidly through the transition stage
•.torn a country of immigrants to a
nation of citizens and builders of
a new society rooted in the tra
ditional Jewish ethical and moral
•, a lues.
The process of transformation af-
lects practically every phase of life.
The tempo of construction and de
velopment that one can see in many
parts of the land reflects vitality, ^
confidence and a keen sense of
purpose. The multiplicity of activ
ities and problems reminds the
visitor that Israel has achieved the
maturity of a rapidly growing - '
country that must contend not only
with problems of immigration, set-
•lement and economic growth,, but
•nth the stresses and 'strains of
twentieth century existence, with
the social and human pressures of
a heterogeneous population.
Our Role in Israel’s
Progress
by DR JOSEPH J SCHWARTZ
The wonder of Israel is that it
never ceases to show some new
and wondrous facet of meaning and
progress, even to those who have
been intimately linked with its day
to day developments. Within the
compass of Israel’s many-sided life,
the year that has just passed into
Jewish history had one new and
Significant occurrence. Simultane
ously with the celebration of its
fifteenth anniversary, it ushered in
the beginning of the redemption of
the first Israel Bonds ever to be
floated overseas by the Govern
ment of Israel.
In the matter of fact atmosphere
of the financial community this
c\ent caused no quickening of any
one's pulse. Wall Street lifted no
eyebrows when Israel started to
■epav the Bonds that reached ma
turity last May. This casual re
action was perhaps the most eloqu
ent testimonial to the measure of
stability which the economy of 1s-
: ael had achieved in the eyes of
those sections of the world which
never looked at it through rose-
colored glasses.
It is somewhat of a paradox that
redemption caused the greatest stir
among those who have been close
ly identified with Israel and whose
laith and devotion to its develop
ment have remained steadfast
through thick and thin. Those who
believed in Israel Bonds from the
beginning could not help regard the
fulfillment of the promise to repay
as another milestone in the long
series of historic accomplishments
•hat have punctuated Israel’s brief
existence. Obviously, they knew
>nly too well that the road to
economic independence would be a
steep, uphill, almost Sisyphean
limb.
A great deal happened between
May 1. 1951 and May 1. 1963 to
make the redemption of Israel
Bonds possible. It happened in
Haifa. It happened in Beersheba.
It happened in the Huleh area in
•he north and in Mit/.pe Ramon and
Elath in the south. A great deal
happened in these twelve years to
Vice President, Israel Bond Organization
carrying on a program'of technical
assistance to many other new and
underdeveloped countries.
By supplying a steady stream of
development capital, totalling more
than $600,000,000 since May. 1951,
Israel Bonds have helped to release
the creative and constructive abil
ities of the people of Israel. A pop
ulation that numbered some 1,250,-
000 in 1951 has grown to 2,325,000
in 1963, yet the country has man
aged not only to maintain its stand
ard of living but to raise it to the
point where it is far higher than
that of any other country in the
region.
Any investor knows what is
meant by the term, "growth”
stock. Any visitor to Israel knows
what is meant bv a "growth” coun
try: a land filled with the sights
and sounds of building and devel
opment, a land with its eyes on
the future. Israel Bonds are an in
vestment in a “growth" country.
In scientific development Israel
has also taken giant strides into
the future. In the Valley of Sorek,
astride the Jerusalem corridor,
where the heroic Samson was born,
there stands today an atomic re
actor, built with the aid of Israel
Bonds, for research into the peace
ful uses of atomic energy for in
dustry, agriculture and science
Israel’s scientists have also made
%
progress in harnessing the sun’s
rays to supply solar energy for
homes and industries. Instead of
television’ antennas on the roofs,
there are solar energy devices tilt
ed to the sun. Prototopes of solar
energy “pools” have been demon-
stated in isolated desert areas as
sources of a limited supply of elec
tricity.
At Elath, the southermost point
in Israel, the Negev desert dips into
the water of the Gulf of Aqaba.
Here, two different pilot plants for
desalination of sea water are being
tested for efficiency and economy
of operation. Israel Bonds are sup
plying development capital l'oi
pushing these breakthroughs in
desalination and solar energy to the
practicable level at which they can
open new vistas in the redemption
of the Negev desert.
The national water scheme,
begun twelve years ago with the
aid of Israel Bond funds, has been
making significant inroads into the
desert. A twin pipeline carries
water from Tel Aviv's Yarkon
River to the northeastern section
ol the Negev. The more ambitious
national water project to bring
water to other parts of the Negev
from the Sea of Galilee will be op-
e;ational in its first stage by the
end of 1964.
If international trade is Israel’s
lifeline, Haifa is its pulse. The
booming port city abounds in basic
industries: chemicals, cement, glass,
automobile and truck assembly,
foundries, oil refineries. It has also
been the port of entry for a human
cargo of hundreds of thousands of
transform Israel from a have-not A chemical plant, spurring employment. and at right a housing development for new
country into a land which is today immigrants are among the projects Israel Bond dollars are making possible.
46
The Southern Israelite