Newspaper Page Text
Friday, Apr. 4, J969
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Pag* Fifteen
Panorama .... By David Schwartz
What Is A Million Dollars?
A high point of the recent
national conference of Israel
Bonds at Miami was the an
nouncement that one man had
bought a million-dollar bond.
This has never happened before.
What is a million dollars?
We recalled a story told by
Josephus Daniels, Secretary of
the Navy in the Woodrow Wilson
Administration, in his autobio
graphy.
In the little North Carolina
town of Daniels, one of its citi
zens was murdered, leaving be
hind a widow with scanty re
sources. At a meeting, one citizen
after another arose to tell how
much the deceased had meant
to him. Then • a little Jewish
storekeeper arose, and he said:
“Words are one way of show
ing appreciation and faith but
there is a better way. 'To me,
my dead friend was worth $50.00
and I give it for a fund for his
widow.” One after another, the
citizens arose until a fund of a
thousand dollars was raised for
the widow.
The point is money can be
more than money. The million
dollar bond purchase was, no
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doubt, a reaction on the part
of the purchaser to the present
crisis in the Middle East. It
speaks of unshaken faith in this
time when Israel stands most
alone, embattled against a whole
host of enemies.
So, money has its higher pur
poses. But money is good for
itself, too. We recall some years
back. Levi Eshkol, as Minister
of Finance, visited America and
made a speech for Israel Bonds.
One of his hearers was deeply
moved. “Mr. Eshkol,” he said,
“that speech was worth a million
dollars.”
“But I need twenty million,”
said Eshkol quietly.
A state can’t be run without
money. When Eshkol took over
the finance ministry, money was
the one thing Israel didn’t have.
The story is told that one Israeli
out of work came to Ben-Gurion
asking that he be appointed to a
cabinet job.
“Well,” said Ben-Gurion, “if
you want, you can be Colonial
Minister.”
“But Israel has no colonies,”
said the man.
“So what?” said Ben-Gurion,
“we have no finances, but we
have a Finance Minister.”
Levi Eshkol instituted the sys
tem which escalated Israel’s
economic position. He had to re
sort to some unpopular measures,
heavy taxing of the people.
Eshkol himself used to joke about
it. One time at a party, he was
asked whether he wanted coffee
or tea.
“Give me coffee,” said Eshkol,
“I get more taxes from coffee.”
Eshkol yras a great believer in
a four-letter word that is not
too popular these days — the
four-letter word which some
people today regard as obscene.
I mean the word “work”. I think
the most characteristic story
about Eshkol is the one about
his driving around Israel one
day and passing a farm overrun
by weeds. Eshkol got out of the
car and rebuked the man for
letting his ground run to weeds.
“But I have no tractor to remove
the weeds,” the farmer argued.
“You don’t need a tractor.
Give me your hoe,” said Eshkol.
The man brought a hoe and the
Finance Minister got to work,
clearing a little area.
The farmer looked on ad
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RECORD SALES OF ISRAEL BONDS—Notables -i me recent start of the 1969 Israel Bond cam
paign held in Miami — James Albert, standing right, chairman of the Greater Miami Israel Bond
Committee, and Isidore Alterman, Atlanta, national vice chairman for the Miami Mobilization dinner,
and former general chairman of the Atlanta Israel Bond Committee; (seated) Mrs. Itzhok Rabin and
Israeli Ambassador to the U. S. Rabin, principal speaker.
miringly. “Mr. Minister,” he said,
“I think we should exchange
jobs.”
Eshkol was always employed
in practical work, digging the
land to plant seeds or digging
the land to find water.
History with its irony will
possibly remember him best for
his association with the Six-Day
War, but he was not to blame
for that.
Nasser had gathered 100,000
Egyptian troops and 1,000 tanks
in the Sinai desert and un
ashamedly announced, “we pro
pose to destroy the state of
Israel.”
Eshkol had no alternative but
to defend Israel and Israel’s
victory must redound to his
glory.
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