Cigar subsidy cut in Israel

NEW YORK, April 13 (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fire for fancy cigars has been squelched. In response to public outrage, Israel radio said Monday that Israel will no longer buy cigars for visiting dignitaries. Light was shed on the price of his high-society habit when the Israeli newspaper Yediot Achronot reported recently that government spending on cigars costs taxpayers $40,000 a year. Netanyahu’s office had maintained that it is a legitimate entertainment expense. But residents of the Jewish state apparently had trouble inhaling the news that its government was spending that much money on cigars.