In the almost eleven years of Israel's existence as a nation, white-thatched Premier David Ben-Gurion has never hesitated to take tough decisions, in spite of the consequences, which are often economic. The hard-pressed Israelis are still paying special heavy assessments for their militarily brilliant Sinai invasion of Egypt. Now faced with the problem of absorbing 100,000 new immigrants (mostly from Communist Rumania), the government last week slapped new taxes, up to 70%, on consumer goods, ranging from aspirin to refrigerators. It abolished rationing, price controls and subsidies on essential foodstuffs and proclaimed a "compulsory loan," which would eat up as...
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