Israel proclaimed its right to exist and its people courageously defended themselves against invasion. In the succeeding years. Israel shared its newly won freedom and its slender resources with hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees who have sought sanctuary. In the fourth year. which is now coming to an end. 83 percent of Israels people voted support for the countrys prowestern foreign policy and Israel became one of the partners in our Mutual Security Program for the defense of the free world. We who long advocated the establishment of this state have been particularly gratified that it has kept the promise of its creatorskept that promise in a spectacular way. It was founded to provide a homeland for the Jewish people. all but destroyed in the Second World War. No one ever expected that the people of Israel would be able to provide sanctuary for as many as 700.000 refugees. They have more than doubled their population in less than 4 years. There is no precedent in history for a mass migration of these proportions. To feed. clothe. house. train. and employ all these new immigrants is a monumental task and Israel must greatly expand its agricultural and industrial plant if it is to achieve economic selfsufficiency. To help the people of Israel in the attainment of this goal. as we are doing. is to give expression in the fullest sense of the term to the point 4 program. I am proud that our Congress has responded affirmatively to their past appeal. and I hope that we shall continue to do so.
Keywords matched
immigrants refugees