Knesset Closes Winter Session; Adopts Budget of 769,300,000 Pounds

The Israel Parliament has closed its winter session with the adoption of a budget of 769,300,000 pounds for the fiscal year which starts April 1st More than 600 amendments to the budget bill were discussed, necessitating no less than 1,500 separate votes. The voting alone lasted four hours.

Speaking at the final session, Foreign Minister, Moshe Sharett praised the Montevideo conference of Latin American Jewry which, he asserted, was of great moral and practical assistance to Israel.

While the voting and discussions at the final session was in progress, a plenum of Mapai ministers worked at ironing out a dispute which had arisen between Achdut Avodah and Hapoel Hamizrachi–both members of the coalition Cabinet–over the appointment of a member of Hapoel Hamizrachi as Deputy Minister of Education. Such an appointment had been agreed upon when the Cabinet was formed, but Achdut Avodah members had objected on the grounds of an “increase of religious influence on state education.”

Members of the religious group had demanded an extraordinary session of the Cabinet to thrash out the dispute, but this was impossible because of Prime Minister David Ben Gurion’s commitments to be in Tel Aviv and elsewhere. On the other hand, the Hapel Hamizrachists continued to demand that the Knesset must approve the appointment.

Finally, in the last minutes of the closing session, Minister of Education Zalman Arrane announced from the floor that the Cabinet had decided to appoint an Hapoel Hamizrachi member, Dr. Moshe Unna, as Deputy Minister of Education. The appointment was immediately approved by Knesset members, and the session was adjourned.