the 180 million

The 180 Million Shekel Question

by Oshrit Kandalker, Sigal Malul, Lea Niazov, Yaniv Ya'acov, Yamit Stamker, Anna Prival and Sivan Atar, Amal Aleph Comprehensive School, Ramla

The big day has arrived. The State of Israel is celebraing her 50th anniversary - the Jubilee! Some people didn't believe this day would come. But we have made it so far, and we have a magnificent country.

How should this momentous occasion be celebrated? The Minister of Finance has decided to spend an unheard of sum for any celebration before - 180 million shekels, to make it an unforgettable celebration.

However, there is one small detail, just one annoying question. Where will all that money come from? Unemployment is on the rise, there is a recession going on, foreign investors are not exactly knocking on the door.

In an informal survey, we asked 10th grade students and teachers at our school what their thoughts on the subject were. The results were that 60% of the students and about 50% of the teachers thought that this amount was too much and that the Jubilee budget should be considerably less. 70% of the students and 81% of the teachers throught that some of this amount should be invested in other important areas, such as education, health, job development, etc.

Recently the budget for the celebration has been "cut down" to 27 million, then to 21 million shekels. This came after a 1.3 million shekel cut from the Health Ministry budget.

We are facing a moral dilemma: What is more important? A one day celebration of 50 years of independence? Or taking care of our needy citizens? Cutting down on ceremonial expenses? Or on our health-care budget? Investing in education or in public shows? Will our politicians do the right thing? By the time you read this, you'll know the answers yourselves.

This article previously appeared in The Amal Sun - The Student Newspaper of Amal Aleph Ramla, May 1998.

Amal Aleph Ramla school site