Even then: a wave of price increases
February 1952 marks a full year since the beginning of the rise in the prices of products in the economy - and since then it seems that they have not stopped.
Moshe Gafni, a married metal worker and father of two from south Tel Aviv, was interviewed by the Maariv newspaper as part of a citizen survey conducted by journalist Moshe Meisels on "Questions about the situation."
Gafni, who brought Meisels into his home, said that "in any case, at today's prices my wife and I have nowhere to go in the evening. We have not lived for a year, but are fighting the war for survival. I work with a high professional classification, earning a respectable salary of 105 pounds, "But from that amount I get taxes, rent, electricity, childcare payments for the little boy and the school for our eldest son, a benefit fund and insurance. I am left with less than 60 pounds, which are Gornisht with Gornisht."
Meisels reminded his hosts that the state is actually paying an extra cost, to which Gafni's wife reacted angrily: "Extra cost? I record every expense, even of ten pennies. "The one who remains my husband has to be a magician to support a family of four. If he had not worked a second job, in night shifts, we would have starved to death - but how long could he continue like this?"
Meisels published the next day the interview with the Gafni couple, summing it up with the words: "I encounter such stories of despair every day, and everyone asks the same question - what will be the end?"
Paper shortage: "Damage to democracy"
Newspaper stand in Tel Aviv, 1951, Photo: Fritz Cohen, GPO
At the beginning of 1952, 11 daily newspapers were published in Israel in Hebrew, and five in foreign languages.
In mid-February, there was solidarity between the newspapers, with everyone, with the exception of Davar - the newspaper of the ruling Mapai party - angrily attacking the government's handling of the paper supply to the newspapers.
In those days, 235,000 issues of all newspapers were printed in Israel (cumulatively).
This quantity required a minimum supply of 2,600 tons of paper, but in Israel all the newspapers together were supplied with no more than 1,600 tons, a fact which forced most newspapers to cut the number of pages - sometimes to only four.
Newspapers published in Hebrew, 1950, Photo: Zoltan Kluger, GPO
The editors referred to the problem in the editorial sections and explained it as follows: "It is possible that the government believes that the less information is revealed to the public, the better for the government.
Some editors have protested against the "stupidity and helplessness of the government system", mentioning that signing contracts in advance with paper suppliers abroad, and in the long run, reduces the cost of paper by half. "While the Israeli government always orders at the last minute, In the black market in Europe. "
delusional? Huge queues at the cinemas
Queue for tickets at the "Ophir" cinema in Tel Aviv, mid-1940s, Photo: According to section 27A of the Copyright Law
The rapid increase in the population of cities in the country, together with the growing popularity of cinema viewing, created a great distress in the field, which reached its peak in early 1952.
A survey commissioned by the Cinema Owners Association, published in mid-February, revealed the difficulty of the average citizen when it comes to purchasing a cinema ticket at an official price at the box office.
In Tel Aviv, frustrating queuing times were measured - sometimes even more than an hour.
In Haifa, an average of 43 minutes of waiting was recorded, and in Jerusalem - 36 minutes.
According to the survey, the main reason for the box office closing too soon was that "the tickets ran out".
The reviewers examined how many frustrated buyers remained in line as soon as the window closed, and found that in Tel Aviv their average number was 117, in Haifa 77 and in Jerusalem 68.
The shortage of tickets in the cinemas of the big cities has created fertile ground for the development of speculation.
The report accompanying the survey revealed that starting in October 1951, not only were tickets sold at exorbitant prices on the black market - but also a phenomenon of fraud and deception developed, in which speculators sold counterfeit, used or other cinema tickets while blurring the name of the original cinema.
Slips also in transit
Food slips from the austerity period, Photo: Nostalgia Online website archive
On February 10, 1952, the Rationing Division of the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced that "as of March 1, the supervision of consumers in the transit camps will be tightened, and food, footwear and clothing products will be sold only against the presentation of point slips."
Until that time, the families of the immigrants did not have coupons, and the grocery store in their transit camp provided them with products against the presentation of an immigrant certificate - and without any supervision.
The announcement from the Ministry of Trade and Industry came a month after it was announced that "an inspection of consumers in the transit camps, conducted by the ministry's inspection divisions and the Histadrut, revealed that there is no truth in the rumors about consumers, as if inappropriate things are being done there."
The introduction of the scoring system in the transit camps was also related to the government's desire to prevent the mass migration of immigrants, who moved at will from one area of the country to another, without obtaining permission from the institutions.
Every immigrant who wants to move will now have to get a permit from the grocery store in his transit.
But about the King of England
On the morning of February 7, 1952, heavy mourning fell for thousands of British nationals living in Israel, after the sudden death of George VI, King of the United Kingdom, the night before - at the age of 56 - the next day. .
At the same time, an organization began in Israel to hold two major ceremonies - one in memory of the late king and the other on the occasion of the expected coronation of his daughter, Elizabeth.
A telegram sent from London to the Foreign Ministry stated that "the Israeli flag at the embassy has been lowered to half-mast, and Ambassador Eliyahu Eilat intends to attend the funeral ceremony."
The Syrians are robbing cows
In February 1952 it was reported that "50 cows of Kibbutz Haon were robbed while the herd was grazing in the demilitarized zone."
The thieves were reported to have been Syrian soldiers, fired at the shepherd and left with the herd.
Israel's representative on the Israeli-Syrian armistice committee demanded "to oblige the Syrians to locate the herd - and return it immediately."
The missing / professions that were
Collection of papers
Photo: Nostalgia Online Archive,
A profession created out of necessity, after the then Tel Aviv mayor, Israel Rokach, noticed that although he took care to scatter many garbage cans on the city streets - the sidewalks were still full of paper waste, popsicle wrappers and empty cigarette boxes.
The paper collections wore white robes and bore the caption "Do not throw papers in the public domain."
They walked along the sidewalks and collected into the basket they were carrying pieces of paper and cardboard.
The grocery store / games from time to time
Manual TV game
Photo: Nostalgia Online Archive,
An electronic item that heralded the beginning of the digital age since 1980.
The game, which featured poor graphics and poor performance (which at the time was still considered the "peak of perfection"), was developed by a Japanese company called "Nintendo", which took the world by storm and became the generic name for the entire industry.
Each year came a more sophisticated game, which offered spectacular colors, attractive sound and impressive performance - compared to the model he replaced.
The "Magnificent in Israel" hotel is located
On February 11, 1952, it was announced that the Nordau Plaza Hotel would be opened to tourists "on New Year's Eve."
However, the hotel, which was under construction on a kurkar ridge at the end of Nordau Street, suffered from partner disputes that delayed its completion, and stood desolate as a skeleton.
In 1959, a group of developers completed construction and handed the hotel over to the global Sheraton chain (pictured, from the 1960s), which left it after about a decade of heavy losses.
The same thing happened to the Holiday Inn chain.
In 1978, the hotel was purchased by businessman David Teige and operated until it closed and was demolished 30 years ago.
Since then the area has been empty.
(Thanks to hotel researcher Dr. Pedro Zoniga)
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