Israel Bonds facts

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

• Israel Bonds are essentially a loan. An investor agrees to supply a certain amount of money for a fixed period of time, to be paid back with interest.
  
  
• The idea for Israel Bonds, which is an economic development corporation that sells bonds issued by the State of Israel, came in September 1950, when Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, met with 50 American and Israeli leaders at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
  
  
• The Knesset voted to launch Israel's first bond issue in February 1951. In March of that year, Ben-Gurion launched a bond drive at Madison Square Garden in New York. The event was followed by a coast-to-coast U.S. tour that eventually netted $52.6 million.
  
  
• Money collected by Israel Bonds has contributed to numerous projects in Israel, including the Dimona nuclear plant and the absorption of Russian and Ethiopian immigrants.