The Israel Cabinet, at an extraordinary meeting today, decided to nominate a non-party committee of merchants, industrialists and representatives of cooperatives to “study and report on effects of clothing and footwear rationing.” The committee will start work tomorrow and submit its report to the Cabinet as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, all shops, restaurants and cafes in Jerusalem were kept closed today in protost against the rationing of shoes and clothing. The only establishments open were the cooperative Histadrut stores and the shops run by the Ata textile factory. They were heavily guarded by police. No incidents were reported.
Huge crowds lined up in front of the Jewish Agency building where parliament is meeting, in an effort to witness the session at which the government’s rationing policy was taken up for discussion. The debate opened with speeches by three members of the Cabinet defending the government’s economic policy in general and its rationing policy in particular. The three were: Finance Minister Eliezer Kaplan, Labor Minister Golda Myerson, and Minister of Communications David Remez.
The three ministers pointed out that one paramount task faces Israel — unrestricted immigration and its absorption, and that all means at the state’s disposal must be subjected to achievement of this task. “There is only one alternative,” Mrs. Myerson added. “Either to absorb the immigrants on whom we have to spend all foreign currency, or to live in luxury.” Premier David Ben Gurion was scheduled to address the evening session of the Knesset on the same subject.
Meanwhile, a huge protest meeting took place here arranged by the Merchants Association and addressed by its president A. Bernstein, as well as by members of parliament. Mr. Bernstein said that the Association “will seek to establish a World League of Jewish Merchants to defend private initiative in Israel.” Speakers for the Religious Bloc told the crowd that members of the Bloc in parliament will not vote for the rationing law in its present form.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
