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<PAGE> PAGE 10
SIGNATURE MICHAEL PIGNATARO
TITLE CFO
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000865277
<NAME> THE FIRST ISRAEL FUND, INC.
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</TABLE>
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
To the Board of Directors of
The First Israel Fund Inc.
In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements
and financial highlights of The First Israel Fund Inc. ("The Fund")
for the one year period ended September 30, 1998, we considered its
internal control, including control activities for safeguarding
securities, in order to determine our auditing procedures for the
purpose of expressing our opinion on the financial statements and
financial highlights and to comply with the requirements of Form
N-SAR, not to provide assurance on internal control.
The management of the Fund is responsible for establishing and
maintaining internal control. In fulfilling this responsibility,
estimates and judgments by management are required to assess the
expected benefits and related costs of controls. Generally,
controls that are relevant to an audit pertain to the entity's
objective of preparing financial statements and financial
highlights for external purposes that are fairly presented in
conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. Those
controls include the safeguarding of assets against unauthorized
acquisition, use or disposition.
Because of inherent limitations in internal control, error or
fraud may occur and not be detected. Also, projection of any
evaluation of internal control to future periods is subject to
the risk that it may become inadequate because of changes in
conditions or that the effectiveness of the design and operation
may deteriorate.
Our consideration of internal control would not necessarily
disclose all matters in internal control that might be material
weaknesses under standards established by the American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants. A material weakness is a
condition in which the design or operation of one or more of the
internal control components does not reduce to a relatively low
level the risk that misstatements caused by error or fraud in
amounts that would be material in relation to the financial
statements and financial highlights being audited may occur and
not be detected within a timely period by employees in the normal
course of performing their assigned functions. However, we noted
no matters involving internal control and its operation, including
controls over safeguarding securities, that we consider to be
material weaknesses as defined above as of September 30, 1998.
This report is intended solely for the information and use of
management, the Board of Directors, and the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
November 16, 1998
