In 1950, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion proposed that an Israel bond be floated in the United States as a means of securing urgently needed funds for the new state. He visited the United States in May 1951 to launch the bond drive. In their first offering in the United States, Israel bond sales garnered $52 million. The bonds were later sold in other countries as well. An Israel Bonds Organization was created, and billions of dollars of bonds were sold. Since 2002, former Likud member of the Knesset Joshua Matza has been the president and CEO of the State of Israel Bonds Development Corporation for Israel. In 2006, bonds valued at nearly $1.2 billion were sold. On 31 December 2006, the outstanding balance of bonds and notes issued through Israel bonds was $10 billion, representing approximately 29.8 percent of Israel's total public sector external debt.
Historical Dictionary of Israel. Bernard Reich David H. Goldberg. Edited by Jon Woronoff..