ISRAEL'S TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-00927A004600080002-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Sequence Number: 2
• Content Type: REPORT

OCI No. 0352/64A
Copy No.
SPECIAL REPORT
'CORD
I if~N
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
,c
~il/CDF Pages
GROUP I ud + automatic
downQrcdi r I inc iassification
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OFFICE: OF CURRENT INTELLIGENCE
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Israel is conducting a program of technical
assistance to African, Asian, and Latin America
countries aimed primarily at winning support for
Israel's position in disputes with the Arabs. This
program has been sufficiently successful to prompt
the Arabs to take countermeasures. Most of the aid
has been given to African countries, but Latin Amer-
ica, is receiving increased attention. Israel's pri-
mary assets in carrying out this program are its 1.3(a) (4) (5)
population, with its wide variety of technical
skills, and its experience in coping with problems
facing a. small developing country. The Israelis would
like to have US financial and political support
for many of their projects and have also sought fi-
nancing from other Western sources.
Political Background
In 1947, Israeli leaders--
even before they had a country
to govern--worked diligently to
secure the majority in the UN
General Assembly which passed
the resolution dividing Pales-
tine into Arab and Jewish sec-
tors. When Israel proclaimed
its independence the next year,
the Arab countries, unreconciled
to the idea. of such a state in
their midst, declared war. The
UN's first intervention in an
international conflict brought
only a. truce, and despite the
efforts of the UN Truce Supervi-
sion Organization since that
time, the recurrent border dis-
putes occasionally reach the Se-
curity Council. In addition,
the UN Emergency Force, which
patrols the Israeli-Egyptian bor-
der, and the UN Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees
have responsibilities which in-
volve Israel.
UN organizations thus are
the means by which many deci-
sions affecting Israel's inter-
ests are carried out, but the
Israelis--belonging formally
to no bloc--ha.ve little influ-
ence on these decisions ana
organizations, except through
other members of the UN. These
circumstances, together with
its other international aspira-
tions, have obliged Israel to
be unusually active in seeking
diplomatic support from coun-
tries throughout the world, and
particularly from a.mong the
new states in Africa..
Over-all Program
Prime Minister Eshkol an-
nounced a. year ago that the
Israeli Government had, during
the past 16 years, sent sonpe
850 experts and advisers tc- de-
veloping countries. He said
that many hundreds of experts
and professional workers had
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also been sent to these countries
by private or quasi-public Is-
raeii organizations. During
the same period, some 4,500
;rainees and students from abroad
participated in hundreds of
ourses and seminars in Israel.
in 1,963, alone,a.ccording to For-
cign Minister Meir, about 500
;raeli experts were sent to
erve in 51 countries. Approxi-
tn,ately 2,100 students and train-
i~es from 79 countries also spent
varying amounts of time in 1963
7.7 Israel learning techniques
or coping with problems at home.
The net totals to date taus
1,,obably come to more than 1,000
raelis sent abroad by the gov-
K_-~rnment and about 6 , 000 foreign
ntionais trained in Israel. At
cast 70 countries have formal
bilateral technical cooperation
-agreements with Israel.
In some cases Israeli ex-
perts have all their expenses
Paid by the countries in which
1hey serve, but usually the
=osts are split. Such arrange-
rrents have enabled Israel to con--
duct its a.id programs on a reLa-
i:.veLy small budget. For the
1963-64 fiscal year, only $800,-
1,(-)0 is budgeted for "technical
assistance." Israel does not
provide development loans or
grants and rarely shoulders cap-
ital costs. In certain :insta.nces,
it has advanced loans for the
procurement of goods and serv-
'.ces in Israel.
1.3 (a) (4) (5)
Type.; of Program
Israel's population is
its most abundant resource
from the standpoint of the aid
program. Israel's "native"
culture is essentially :European,
with a high general level of
Western style education. A
large proportion of the
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w
immigrants who have come to Is-
rael are from Europe, and many
have technical and professional
skills. Each year, immigration
adds further talent to the labor
force. A few years ago, for
example, there was a. substantial
influx of Jewish physicians
from
Rumania.. Israel did
not
send
them abroad because
they
were
so recently arrived,
but
their
presence permitted
the
assignment of other physicians
to Africa.
Thus, although a variety
of techniques are used, Israel
in essence either sends techni-
cians abroad or trains foreign
nationals in Israel. Those who
go abroad include teachers,
construction and civil engineers,
labor and agricultural special-
ists, medical personnel. and
military ad-
visers. The Israelis also have
filled requests for a. football
coach and an expert in state
lotteries.
A typical example of an
Israeli technical cooperation
agreement is the one signed
last April with Togo. The
fields in which Israel offered
to furnish training include
agricultural education and de-
velopment; public health and
medicine; general, professional
and scientific education; air,
land, and sea transportation;
and the development of natural
and industrial resources. Is-
rael agreed to provide scholar-
ships in each of these fields
and also to furnish, "within
the limits of possibilities"
and upon the request of the Togo-
lese Government, experts, tech-
nical consultants,a.nd special-
ized workers.
Military Programs
In the field of parami 1L-
tary activities, Israel's
"Nahal" and "Gadna" programs
have attracted considerable at-
tention in Asia, Africa, and
Latin America.. Nahal is the
Israeli organization which pro-
vides personnel for the coun-
try's paramilitary border s:!t-
tlements. These constitute
Israel's first lines of ground
defense. Activities in the
Nahal are divided between miLi-
tary training and agricultural
work. Service in it is an ai-
ternative to regular military
service. Ga.dna. is a voluntary
corps of Israeli high schoct
boys who receive weekly mili-
tary training and attend miLi-
tary camps in the summer.
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Labor and Cooperatives
Israel's labor federation,
Lhe Histadrut, also participates
in foreign aid activities. In
1960 it established, with fi-
nancia.l
aid from the AFL-CIO,
an Afro-Asian Institute for
Labor
and
Cooperative
Studies.
Some
740
students from
57 coun-
tries
have attended the institute.
Courses have been presented in
English, for trainees firom for-
mer British colonies, and in'
French, for those from French-
.,peaking territories. Accord-
ing to the Israeli press, the
British Trades Union Congress,
the Swiss and Scandinavian labor
f'edera.tions, the International
Labor Organization and the EEC,
as well as the AFL-CIO, have
given scholarships to foreign
trainees for attendance at the
Institute.
The Histadrut, along with
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
also maintains a Center for
Cooperative and Labor Studies
for students from Latin America.
About 250 people have already
studied at the Center, most on
OAS scholarships.
Histadrut's own building
and construction firm, Solel
Boneh, is another medium through
which the labor federation oper-
ates in newly developing coun-
tries. Solel Boneh has entered
into several commercial ventures
with foreign governments which
provide the greater share of
capital. Solel Boneh, in addi-
tion to providing the remaining
funds, supplies most of the
organizational and managerial
talent. Ventures of this type
have been in operation in Burma,
Nepal, Iran, Turkey, Cyprus,
Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra
Leone, Ivory Coast, and Tangan-
yika.
Regional Distribution
Burma was the earliest
Asian recipient of Israeli
technical assistance. In 1952,
Burmese socialists became inter-
ested in Israeli agricultural
collectives and cooperatives.
Since then, a variety of assist-
ance has also been given to
India., Ceylon, Nepal, S'Singa-
pore,.Malaya, and Thailand. The
Israelis also have recently
offered agricultural and health
training programs to South Viet-
na.m. Vietnamese officials are
especially interested in Israel's
experience in agrarian community
development.
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Ghana., Nigeria., and Liberia
have long been recipients of
Israeli aid in Africa. More
recently the Ivory Coast has
become a. focal point of Israeli
assistance to West Africa in the
agricultural and paramilitary
In this connection, Angola's
rebels may be involved. Some
of the insurgents already have
been trained in Israel, and Is-
rael probably also has supplied
arms to them.
On the other side of the
continent, the Israeli Govern-
ment reportedly has decided to
increase its technical and mili-
tary assistance activities in
East Africa. The Israeli ]:rr-
ba.ssy in Addis Ababa. has been
designated the coordina.tin~; cen-
ter for these and other ac ivi-
ties in the area. Israel has
a commercial as well as a. polit-
ica.l interest there, since it
views East Africa as a. natural
market for products shippec_
from Eilat, the Israeli poi t
which has access to the Rec- aea
via the Gulf of Aqaba..
The recent decision of the
minister of defense to giv*
priority to Na.hal and Ga.dnm
activities in Latin Americt ap-
parently is only part of a
broader plan of the Israel:.
Government to become more