The Israeli Government announced today that food rationing will be introduced throughout the country under the austerity program approved by the Knesset this week. The new food ration will restrict the population to daily consumption of 360 grams of bread, 58 grams of sugar, 25 grams of meat and a monthly consumption of 12 eggs.
Dr. Dov Joseph, Minister of Food and Supply, told representatives of the press that the monthly consumption of food under the new austerity diet will cost about six pounds–or approximately $l8–per capita. He expressed certainty that the restricted diet will improve public health.
Ration books covering the provisions of the new program will be issued within a month’s time, the Minister said. Clothing and shoes will also be rationed, he added. The government is now studying means of absorbing the purchasing power created by the “austerity” measures and a proposal to that end will soon be presented to the Knesset, the Minister revealed.
Beginning next week restrictions will also be introduced on the use of electric current during certain daytime hours. Compulsory saving and additional taxation are being planned by the government among measures designed to absorb the purchasing power created by the food and clothing rationing program.
The government’s austerity program came under a many-sided attack today at a meeting of the Agricultural Center of the Histadrut. Speakers complained that the program did not provide necessary incentives to agriculture.
A warning that Israel must be strongly armed for many years, and possess a modern army equipped with the most modern weapons, was given last night by Premier David Ben Gurion, speaking at a meeting of the Haganah Veterans Association.
The Israeli Premier said that the Jewish state could not depend merely on its experience in the recent fighting with the Arabs because the Arabs had learned from their mistakes and would reorganize their forces and improve their fighting facilities.
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.
