Combined with these strenuous efforts to help themselves was a very large inflow of capital. much of it from the United States and the German Federal Republic. I am proud that the $985 million in American aid that we have sent to Israel has played a major role in the growth and development of that country. Israels progress in the 16 years of its independence would have been remarkable under any circumstances. it is all the more so when one remembers that Israel has absorbed a wave of immigration much like our own in years gone by. In 1948. Israels population was only 650.000. Now it has more than tripled. totaling 2.400.000. Many of the immigrants arrived penniless and without skills. some from countries entirely bypassed by modern science and technology. They spoke different languages and were the products of different traditions. So in addition to a massive task of resettlement. the country faced a massive task of manpower upgrading. Israel responded with a network of vocational schools. Extension courses for farmers were organized. with instructors living in the villages teaching modern farming methods. Special courses. some of them peripatetic. have prepared immigrants for productive employment in trades. The standing army has been shaped to serve as a school for vocational training as well as for good citizenship. In the face of all its problems. the people of Israel have done two things which are shining tributes to their spirit which I should like to point to today.
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