 Time for the Laun Jean Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour brought to you every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. A presentation of the Laun Jean Wittner Watch Company, maker of Laun Jean, the world's most honored watch, and Wittner, distinguished companion to the world-honored Laun Jean. Good evening. This is David Ross. May I introduce our co-editors for this edition of the Laun Jean Chronoscope. Mr. William Bradford Huey, editor of the American Mercury, and Mr. Henry Haslett, contributing editor of Newsweek and editor of The Freeman. Our distinguished guest for this evening is the Honorable James G. McDonald, former United States Ambassador to Israel. The opinions expressed are necessarily those of the speakers. Well, Mr. McDonald, it's a very great pleasure to have you on the Chronoscope program this evening, and it's especially a great pleasure to me because I remember our friendly association on the New York Times when we were both editorial writers there and had adjoining rooms. Well, I think you left sometime in about 1938, and a lot of things have happened since then. The whole face of the world has changed, and you in particular have added a very rich experience. And you have been our first ambassador, this country's first ambassador to Israel. And you have been also one of the foremost Americans in support of that country. And we'd like tonight to discuss some of the problems of that country and some of the progress that it's made. So I'd like to begin by asking you the question which it seems to me most Americans are interested in and are most troubled about. And that is, do you think that Israeli, Israel and the Arab states will be able to work out a real peace? I think there will be no war between Israel and the Arab states. The situation now as an armistice is that what? There is an armistice with each of the four immediate neighbors, with Egypt, with Jordan, with Syria and with the Lebanon. But I do not anticipate that these armistices will actually be transformed into treaties of peace in the near future. Why is that? Because the Arabs, for the most part, see no reason for making peace, their standing path. And they, I think mistakenly, hope that Israel will fall in its own weight because of the vast number of Jewish immigrants that have been coming to the country and because of the economic burdens which the new state now bears. Well, they think that preparedness, a constant state of preparedness on the part of Israel will force those economic burdens to be heavier, is that part of what they're... Well, the preparedness burden is across one thing. But beyond that, the Arabs feel that the Jews, by having brought into their country nearly 700,000 refugees, when there were only 650,000 Jews there to begin with, have taken on a burden which will be too heavy for them. Now, sir, can you explain quickly for our audience just what the economic problem is in Israel? First, how large is Israel? Is it the size of one of our states? Well, about the size of New Hampshire. About the size of New Hampshire and what is the population? About a million and a half. And that, of course, has been a rapidly growing population. It's doubled in four years. And what type of industry there? What do the people do to earn? What is the national product? Well, the product which is best known is citrus. The Israelis claim that they have the best oranges and the best grapefruit in the world. I understand that the California and Florida do not agree. And they export citrus products? Yes, that's their largest export. They export certain other specialties. But the measure of their economic, what you economists call imbalance, is the fact that their exports are only about one-eighth of their imports. Now, and since they are now importing eight times the value of their exports, how do they make up the difference there? Well, they don't make it up at present because these imports are in large part loans or gifts. And so far as they are loans, they constitute, of course, obligations which Israel will sooner or later have to meet. And isn't that one of the things you're interested in now in helping to promote the sale of the bonds of the country? Yes, one of the methods which Israel is using now to meet this imbalance is to try to sell in this country a total of $500 million worth of Israel bonds over a period of three years. The proceeds to be used to buy American tools, machines, supplies of all sorts to undergird the economy of the new state. Has there been any criticism to the effect that Israel has been trying to industrialize too fast? It's the most industrialized country in that area, isn't it? Yes, there has been that criticism. But you see, if you have 650,000 Jews in Israel, as was the case, to start with, you bring in within four years 700,000 more. Well, there has to be something for them to do. Agriculture is not sufficient and it's too slow. Can't employ them, yes. Can't employ them. And then they have to begin to do things for themselves, make their own shoes, make their own clothes so that not everything has to be bought from the outside. Well, do you know offhand what the percentage of the national income is from industry now as compared with agriculture or the percentage of employment in the two? A rough idea? I'm afraid I can't give you the figures which would be nearly enough accurate to justify presenting them here. I'm sure so that our audience should be interested in the approximate value of the American investment in Israel over the four years that it's been a nation. How much American money has gone into the Israel experiment? Well, American money has gone into Israel in various forms. First place, there have been substantial United States government loans to Israel. First, a loan of $100 million from the Export-Import Bank, subsequently a special agricultural loan of $35 million, and more recently a grant in aid of some $60 million, thus making a total of over $200 million of American governmental funds, loans or grants. In addition to that, there have been over this period of years substantial philanthropic gifts from the so-called UJA, the United Jewish Appeal in this country, totaling well over $100 million. Plus that, there is the proceeds from the bonds. The total sold up to date is about $125 million. Perhaps Israel has received as much as $70 million from that proceeds. In addition, you have, of course, private investments, which have also total a large sum. Well, of the contributions and investments all together, about what percentage has the United States furnished or has come from the United States, both as compared with the rest of the world? Well, I've never seen the figure put down in black and white, but it must be very large. It must be 90 or 95 percent. And we Americans then have about an excess of $500 million, you would estimate, now invested in Israel. Yes, that and more. Now, could you tell us just something about these 700,000 people who've come in? I mean, Israel is still a relief project, isn't it? What type are these sick people, old people, skilled people? They are all sorts. The Israelis did not discriminate as nearly all countries, including our own do, against old age, against invalidism, and so on. Israel took them all. They came from about 60 different countries. And the other day, well, I say the other day, about three weeks ago, I was in Bereshiba. You remember the old biblical saying from Dan in the north to Bereshiba in the south? A few years ago, there were only a couple thousand Arabs in that town. Now there are about 20,000 Jews. I went to the school, talked to the director. He said we have 22 languages in our school. That's a measure of the diversity of the people who have come. The official language is now Hebrew, isn't it? That's right. But how many people actually speak it or are able to speak it? Well, the children speak Hebrew except the children of new immigrants, and they learn it very quickly. They learn it so quickly there was very discouraging to me. The child who's been in the country for six months will chatter Hebrew on the street like a sabra. That's a native born. But adults are more polygons. Well, adults, many of them speak their own languages. But the educated Israeli, the government official for the most part, will speak five or six or seven or eight languages. They're not illiterate linguistically as we are. For instance, the other day I met a young child in Jerusalem, and I said, what languages do you speak? She was 10. She said, I speak Arabic and Hebrew and French and German and Italian, and I'm learning Spanish. What language did you ask the question in? Well, I asked you. I asked it in English. As a final question, Mr. McDonald, I'm sure that our audience would like you to tell us something. What is the morale in the country? Has there been any disillusionment? Are the people still enthusiastic over their efforts to create a new nation? The people are still enthusiastic and confident. But as you know, it's easier to be unqualifiedly enthusiastic in time of war. Now has come the hard economic pull, and inevitably there has been and is a measure of disillusionment. But as a supporter of this human experiment, you yourself are still confident that it is going to work out satisfactorily. I am, and I'm confident that it will be a civilizing and modernizing and democratizing influence in the whole of the... And you regard it as one of the hopeful developments in the world today. One of the few hopeful ones. Yes. Well, thank you very much for being with us tonight, sir. The editorial board for this edition of the Lawn Jean Chronoscope was Mr. William Bradford Huey and Mr. Henry Haslett. Our distinguished guest was the Honorable James G. McDonald, former United States Ambassador to Israel. Next to the class pin or ring, the most wanted memento of graduation is a fine watch, and for most graduates, that means the world's most honored watch, Lawn Jean. And do you know you may buy and proudly give to your favorite graduate your choice of any of these Lawn Jean watches for exactly $71.50, and no other name on a watch means so much as Lawn Jean, the world's most honored graduation watch. The only watch in history to win 10 World's Fair Grand Prizes, 28 Gold Medal Awards, and so many honors for accuracy in fields of precise timing. Now, without fear of contradiction, we assert that these beautiful Lawn Jean watches at $71.50 are by far the finest watches you can buy at this modest price. Each is powered with the superlative Lawn Jean watch movement. Each is enclosed in a fine quality, hand-finished gold-filled case. Each is beautifully presented in the Lawn Jean manner. The same watches with quality-matching expansion bracelets are only $89.50. Your Lawn Jean Witner Jeweler Agency will show you other Lawn Jean graduation watches priced to $350, each one an outstanding example of Lawn Jean, the world's most honored watch, premier product of the Lawn Jean Witner Watch Company, since 1866, maker of watches of the highest character. This is David Ross speaking for your regular host, Frank Knight, inviting you to join us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening at the same time for the Lawn Jean Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour, broadcast on behalf of Lawn Jean, the world's most honored watch, and Witner, distinguished companion to the world-honored Lawn Jean, sold in service from coast to coast by more than 4,000 leading jewelers who proudly display this emblem. Agency for Lawn Jean Witner watches. This is the CBS television network.