ABSTRACT
Unemployment fell so much that by the end of the 1950s the Israeli economy enjoyed virtually full employment. Israeli exports also blossomed at a dizzying pace. Seeking to reduce Israel's trade balance deficit and thus attend to the foreign currency shortage, decision makers needed to increase exports while simultaneously reducing imports. For Israel, the creation of the Common Market constituted a special problem. Although the Israelis marketed the Jaffa orange as a symbol of the success of the Zionist enterprise, Palestinian Arabs had in fact improved the fruit and should be credited with the worldwide reputation which it enjoys to this very day. The European Economic Community's (EEC's) relative share of Israeli exports passed 30%. Thus, the formation of the EEC presented a serious challenge to Israel. While Israeli-refined diamonds were making their way mainly to the American market, Israel exported a very broad variety of industrial products in small quantities to Western and Northern European countries.
