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immigrants. One of the first allo
cations of Israel Bond proceeds was
for the construction of the auxiliary
narbor at the mouth of the Kishon
' River and additional facilities in
ihe main harbor. The increased ton
nage capacity enabled the young
nation to cope with the volume of
imports needed to feed, house and
employ the immigrants, and handle
the rising flow of exports produced
by the immigrants.
Just as Israel has organized its
water plans on a nation-wide basis,
so it has pooled its harbor plans
in a single port authority to es
tablish the necessary facilities for
Israel’s growing export-import
trade. At the present time con
struction is well under way on
the first stage of a new deep
water port at Ashdod, to serve as
the outlet on the Mediterranean for
the citrus crop and for the minerals
and other products of the Negev
area. In the not too distant future
Ashdod will rival Haifa.
The importance of the port of
Elath is its strategic position at the
gateway to Africa to Asia. Even-
uith 2,500,000 tons each for Haifa
and Ashdod. Tankers regularly de
liver oil from abroad at the Elath
terminus of the pipeline leading
to the refineries at Haifa. Ships
loaded with Israeli cement and
other building materials sail reg
ularly to any of a score or more
of newly established countries.
This two-way line of communica
tions and trade passing through
Elath is only one facet of the
friendship between Israel and these
newer, underdeveloped countries.
Because it has had to telescope so
much development into the first
fifteen years of its independence,
Israel has gained the priceless in
tangible of experience and tech
nical know-how. It is this ingred
ient which Israel is supplying to
the newer countries of Africa and
Asia, and to other underdeveloped
countries as well, through its grow
ing technical assistance program.
What makes Israel such a practical
exemplar of progress is that most
of the achievements are so fresh
that the fingerprints of the past are
still visible. For instance, mention
of the Huleh area still brings to
mind the word "swamp." Actually,
the huge drainage project, under
taken with Israel Bond dollars, has
redeemed the former malarial wil
derness and transformed it into
15,000 areas of the most fertile land
in the country, where such crops
as wheat, cereal grams, peanuts,
cotton and rice are being grown.
Another typical example of this
modern redemption, or develop
ment of the land is what happened
in Beersheba. Secure in its Biblical
heritage, Beersheba had dozed
through the centuries as a small,
sand-swept town “at the end of
the world,” the "last stop” before
the desert. Today. Beersheba is a
vortex of activity, with modern
factories and industries, with a
population well over 50,000 and
growing daily. Beersheba is the
capital of the Negev. —
Beersheba is the proof of what
can be and must be done in the
Negev, if this great undeveloped
hall of Israel is to become the cen
ter for mass settlement, the home
for the continuing high rate of
immigration. It has been estimated
that the Negev could sustain thirty
"Beershebas,” or a population of
1,500,000, if there were sufficient
development capital. sufficient
water and sufficient manpower to
do the job. A number of these new
“Beershebas” are already in various
stages of growth. Such development
towns as ..Sderot. Netivot, Ofakim,
Dimona, Kfar Yetoham and Mitzpe
Ramon are already solidly estab
lished with functioning industries,
permanent housing, schools and
other public buildings.
Groups of pioneering families
from Haifa and Tel Aviv and Jer
usalem are joining new immigrants
to make their homes in Arad and
the other new areas. At Arad the
nearby natural gas fields, deposits
of phosphates' and a new highway
to S'dom represent important fac
tors in the development of local in
dustry. -The B'sor area, which al
ready has a sprinkling of small
farms, is expected to blossom with
extensive citrus orchards when the
water from the Sea of Galilee is
brought southward to irrigate the
hundreds of thousands of dunams
of fertile land in the region.
Cooper, oil and phosphates top
the list of minerals being success
fully exploited in the Negev. The
discovery of oil led to the discovery
of natural gas and together they
account for 25 percent of Israel's
annual fuel requirements. Ever
since 1951. Israel Bonds have been
the financial "divining rod" in the
countiv's exploration ot its untapp-
GASTON
MOTOR COMPANY
Telephone 5541 124 E. Taylor Street
GRIFFIN, GEORGIA
Chrysler — Plymouth — J aliant
HOUSE OF QUALITY FOOD
AMPLE FREE PARKING
ATLANTA
AUGUSTA 2
OLYMPIA Precision Typewriters
Hightower Typewriter Agency
All Makes Machines Repaired
ALEX BEST. Owner
322.8th Street
Phone PA. 2-7J56
AUGUSTA. GA.
’hone: PArk 2-6131
35 Years Experience
Mmiks Auto & Truck Alignment
COMPLETE FRAME STRAIGHTENING • BEAR WHEEL ALIGNING
BALANCING AND BRAKE SERVICE c TIRE SKIMMING
WHEEL STRAIGHTENING
SPRING RE.ARCHED
ESTAB. 1914
VV, M. EUBANKS
575 BROAI) STREET
AUGUSTA. GA
Griffin Glass Company
Auto Glass and Accessories Installed
Window Glass - Plate Glass
Mirrors - Store Fronts
701 East Taylor Street . Phone 8-8631
Griffin, Georgia
FIRST FEDERAL SAVINGS
and Loan Association
of Griffin
Insured Savings — Improved Real Estate Loans
223 South Sixth Street
Telephones 2205 and 2206 P. O. BOX 543
GRIFFIN, GEORGIA
The Southern Israelite
47