Evening star., 1950-10-01


writing the black market rate of
the Israeli pound fell to just under
81 There is increasing domestic
bitterness between political parties
and economic groups, and finally
there is the perpetual threat of a
world war in which Israel can ex-
pect to be in the immediate front
line. The whole precarious foreign
policy of "non-identif1cation" with
, other East, or West world blocs
is becoming patiently impracticable,
yet it can only be sacrificed at
the cost Of an even more embit-
tered rift inside the country.
All these facts are accurate and
sad enough, but if no more was
said than this a false picture
would have been painted. For ex-
ample. it is not the relative pop
ulationS of Israel and the Arab
states which matter, but their
relative military effectiveness.
Though undermined and under
trained, the makeshift military
forces Of Israel helped to a certain
extent by the circumstances of
the United Nations truces, de-
feated the armies of four Arab
states and held the army of a
fifth (Jordan's Arab Legion) in
check in 1948, and since that time
the military balance has unques-
tionably shifted in her favor. -
Militarily Strategic
It is true and disturbing for
Israel that Egypt has been receiv-
ing a number of jet-fighters and
considerable supplies of other
arms from Britain, but 1t is
equally certain that Israel has
not been idle in the purchase of
arms from abroad. Her con-
script army is now large, we'll
organized and efficient. A whole
constellation of new, strategic
frontier settlements have been
founded since the Palestine war,
and it should not be forgotten
that 1t was the embattled kibbut-
Zim communal settlements)
which saved the country before.
The nuisance value of the un-
signed peace now existing be-
tween Israel and the Arab states
Is very great indeed. Israel is
obliged to spend precious energy
and money on defense: she is de-
prived of markets for her manu-
factured goods and of the ma
tural sources for her food supply;
the oil refineries at Haifa have
only very recently and very in
completely begun to work again
on oil brought across the Atlantic
by tankers: there has been a
creScendo Of armed marauding
across the Jordanian and Egyp-
tian frontiers. All these hardships
must continue until at last-the
prospect seems no brighter now
than it did six months ago-the
Arab states are persuaded to
swallow their pride and serve
their own obvious interests by
signing a definitive peace treaty.
But militarily Israel has little or
nothing to fear from her neigh
bors who are even more divided
and apathetic now than they were
in 1948.
1t is less easy to be optimistic
about the economic situation.
There are favorable long-term
factors. but the immediate and ur-
gent need remains foreign cur
rency. Ben Gurion's recently de-
clared aspiration to raise $500
million by the issue of loan bonds
and from free contributions over
the next three years does not in
itself butter any parsnips. There
have been far too many positive
ly last" appeals to American Jewry
and the patience of those gener-
GUS contributors is being quite
evertly exhausted.
Doesn't Tempt Investors
Nor. frankly, does Israel in its
present condition offer much
temptation to investors. There is
o curious blindness here. In to-
days Jerusalem Post, English
language newspaper In Israel, for
example. there appears a long
article with the stimulating title
Of How to Raise Billion-and-a-
Half Dollars; Plea for Financial
Craftsmanship" But the article
itself contains nothing except
vigorous but vague exhortations
and the suggestion that a new
united Jewish appeal campaign"
should be replaced by "the at
tributes Of inspiration and dignity"
1t Is all too sadly clear that a
mere change Of approach to po-
'tential foreign contributors will
not in itself be enough to solve
Israel's financial problem. In fact,
1t must seem to an outsider that
nothing will do this short of a
direct request for Marshall aid
(smelling little sweeter, no doubt,
under some other name). This
would involve. of course, q frank
political alignment of Israel with
the West. Few people here wish
for that, and many are passion