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70 years after | Israel today

2021-10-15T20:40:06.776Z


Locomotive drivers cause chaos in the country's transportation system, the lottery crowns first winner (without the need for blindfolds), and Raanana teaches Egged a painful lesson • This is what happened in Israel this week seven decades ago


Paralysis in the transportation industry

On the morning of October 14, 1951, the locomotive drivers and the harvesters (who handled the steam system) shut down train traffic on the Tel Aviv-Haifa line, after weeks in which their demands for wage increases and benefits were not met.

It was on the eve of Sukkot, when the two train stations, in Haifa and Tel Aviv, were crowded with thousands of passengers, who had to move to the municipal bus station - where they waited for hours in line, until some returned desperately to their homes.

The trade union department of the Histadrut's Executive Committee rejected the demands of the railway workers.

Two days later, on October 16, traffic ceased on all passenger and freight trains across the country.

Within hours, enormous pressure had accumulated on the bus lines in the country, and the main stations in the big cities could not withstand the heavy load - and closed.

In the port of Haifa, the train strike caused great difficulties, as it was the second day that no import cargo was loaded at the port on the trains, while on a normal day the trains from the port carried about 1,500 tons of cargo.

In addition to the 200 locomotive drivers and harvesters, all the train workers, about 1,000 in number, joined the strike.

The secretary of the Histadrut's executive committee, Yehiel Goldfarb, announced that "the strikers are required to return to work immediately, otherwise harsh measures will be taken against the strike organizers."

The Union of Civil Servants stated that "complying with the strikers' demand will severely damage the delicate balance in the ranking of civil servants."

The state was like a pharmacy, and in all circles of commerce, imports, as well as in the Ministries of Finance and Transportation and the Histadrut, urgent meetings and urgent discussions were convened, as the collapse of the national transportation system paralyzed all activity in the economy.

Only at midnight on October 18 did the strikers announce their return to work, agreeing that "within two weeks there will be a comprehensive discussion on the demands."

The discussion did take place, but as far as the railway workers were concerned, the hoped-for results were not achieved, and only a year later were things settled and some of the demands of the locomotive and harvester drivers were met.

* Thanks to Aharon Gazit, a researcher on the history of the railway, for his assistance

The government promised "adequate nutrition" - and did not keep it

Ration poster "Food for all", Photo: Courtesy of the Central Zionist Archive

In 1949, as part of the preparations for the implementation of an austerity regime in Israel, a team of experts from Israel joined a group of experts, and together they set up a committee to determine the minimum level of nutrition in which infants, children, adolescents, adults and the elderly can survive.

The main conclusions of the committee were then stated that the minimum consumption of an adult in Israel would be "meat allowance of 75 grams per person per month, and a daily allowance of unlimited uniform bread, 60 grams of corn, 58 grams of sugar, 60 grams of flour, 17 grams of rice, 20 grams of legumes, 20 grams Margarine, 8 grams of noodles, 200 grams of lean cheese, 600 grams of onions and 5 grams of biscuit. "

On the basis of this determination, the Ministry of Supply and Rationing conducted the propaganda designed to convince the citizens that "although food is in great demand, the allocation will be sufficient for the subsistence of all citizens of the country."

However, in mid-October 1951, the Government Scientific Council published an alarming report on the state of nutrition in the country, based on a study conducted by the council during 1950 among 60 families, "which is a typical cross-section of the entire population."

The report revealed that "the nutritional status of Israeli citizens is on the border, which means that any further reduction could harm the health of the residents."

The dramatic determination was related to the fact that the study found that most citizens do not use all the ingredients prescribed for distribution, "so that the diet of many adults is already deficient."

The study also showed that "mothers' nutrition is inadequate, and it is likely that mothers give their children food."

The study also found that the nutrition of working boys is poor.

The findings came up when the researchers compared the diet of working boys with the average diet of Max Payne students, which was much better than the working youth diet.

The publication of the report provoked much outrage among the Israeli public. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced that "the findings will be taken into account," and indeed - the report was one of the main reasons for easing the regime of austerity for citizens, in 1952.

National Hobby: Archeology

Jar from the Tel Napoleon Excavations in 1951, Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Rockefeller Museum Jerusalem

The Maariv issue of October 12, 1951, wrote of an interesting social phenomenon: "Many in the community suddenly have a new hobby: archeology and antiquities. You can come to a friend's house these days, and find him immersed in Sukenik's latest book (Prof. Eliezer Sukenik, Head of Department) Archeology at the University of Jerusalem and Reveals the First Hidden Scrolls; DS).

"Another friend will tell you very enthusiastically about Albright (William Foxwell Albright, a Chilean-born American archaeologist who conducted excavations in the country in the 1920s; DS), and another friend - he is writing a novel about King Solomon.

"Another friend asked me to take advantage of the connections I have, so to speak, with the electricity company, to demand that they try to keep the current running in the evening, since that is the only time he has to read books."

A few days later, a follow-up article was published, in which it was reported that "the ecstatic enthusiasm for the establishment of the state has apparently subsided, and escaping from the sad reality that surrounds us in the distant past does not require an exit permit." Of high-ranking personalities in civilian (civilian) or military uniforms attracts the attention of those interested in the science of archeology. "

It was also reported that "the recent excavations at Tel Napoleon in Ramat Gan attracted many interested people, and the book on the subject, which will be published soon, has already sold several editions in advance, according to order lists in bookstores around the country."

The success of the Fourth Sea of ​​Galilee

Kinneret Success Poster, 1951, Photo: Courtesy of the Central Zionist Archive

In mid-October 1951, the week of Sukkot, the fourth competitive success of the Sea of ​​Galilee was held, in the Hapoel organization.

The track was a kind of back to the "Lido" beach, about nine kilometers long, and was attended by 35 swimmers.

Alongside the swimmers, rowboats sailed with examiners who followed the competitors.

A large crowd waited for the winners at the finish point at Lido Beach, and entertainment shows were held for his enjoyment at the beach.

23 of the 35 swimmers finished the route, the first came with a result of 3:13:45 hours.

The leader in women recorded an achievement of 3:31:50 hours.

Over the years, 17 competitive successes have been made at the Sea of ​​Galilee, and 65 popular successes.

In 2020, a group swim was held that surrounded the shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee for three days.

"Passenger trucks" in Raanana

On October 16, 1951, the Raanana Colony Council held a special discussion on the poor service of the Egged lines.

"Since Herzliya was established as Egged's traffic center in the area, Raanana has become a side and abandoned neighborhood in Egged's eyes," angered council member Benjamin Davidi.

Indeed, passengers who wanted to get from Raanana to Tel Aviv, for example, had to wait at stations for a long time until a pick-up bus passed in the area, since Egged did not have a single travel line that started in Raanana.

After Raanana's requests to Egged were not answered, the council hired the services of truck owners, on which benches were mounted for the benefit of passengers.

The signal to bind was understood, and travel arrangements were improved very quickly.

Everyone is courting the verb

The Hapoel Tel Aviv football team, which returned in the middle of the month from a friendly tour in the UK, has been returned by leading teams in Europe, although it was defeated in all its games on the British Isles.

At the Hapoel Center in Tel Aviv, invitations were received to host the team from Scotland (Glasgow Celtic), Italy (Milan) and France (Racing Club).

The missing / events that were

Stamp exhibition

Courtesy of the National Library,

An event that took place in Eretz Israel from 1939 and even years after the establishment of the state, at a time when many, from youth to old age, engaged in the hobby of collecting stamps, as the pale tracker in the famous "Mailbox" sketch: "Stamp collection is an educational thing."

These exhibits showcased collections of stamps, alongside envelopes, postcards, stamps and many other items.

National exhibitions are held in Israel every year, and the country has also hosted several international exhibitions in the field.

The grocery store / items since

churn

Courtesy of Sigleri, Rosh Pina,

A tool for making butter and cheese from milk through beating and shaking, which caused the fat to separate from the milk.

The chisel was originally used in the Land of Israel thousands of years ago, and in modern times it came here in 1868 by the Templar believers who immigrated to the Land of Israel.

With the development of the Jewish settlement in the Jezreel Valley, in the 1920s, the settlers of Nahalal, Tel Yosef, Ein Harod and others purchased the chaff from the Templars, and later made chapters themselves.

The first lottery - 1,000 pounds

Courtesy of the Lottery Spokeswoman,

The first lottery of the Lottery was held on October 16, 1951 in the Ohel Shem hall in Tel Aviv.

The ticket price (in the photo) was a pound, and it gave the right to participate in four lotteries.

Newspaper ads called for the public to attend the historic event, and the government printer produced 120,000 lottery tickets - which were hijacked within 48 hours.

The first prize was £ 1,000 (as the price of a one-room apartment in those days), and was won by a Tel Aviv textile dealer named Yitzhak Cohen.

Ads that were

Do you have pictures or souvenirs from the first days of the country?

Write to us: Yor@ShimurIsrael.Org

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-10-15

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