"Order of the Hour - More Housing"
At a press conference he convened on April 4, 1952 in Tel Aviv, Eliyahu Dubkin, a member of the agency's board and chairman of the board of Keren Hayesod, coined a three-word founding sentence, which he will use extensively in his public activities over the years: "Temporary Order - Housing."
Dobkin immigrated to Israel from Poland in 1932, at the age of 34. He quickly joined the Mapai leadership, was highly regarded by the movement's leader, David Ben-Gurion, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1948, served for decades in the Jewish Agency, and from 1951 served As chairman of Keren Hayesod, at the same time as his activity in the agency's management.
"In the four years since the establishment of the state, we have brought more than 700,000 immigrants here," Dubkin began his speech, adding: the world".
Dubkin emphasized that "bringing our brother to Israel was only part of the task, with a large part still ahead of us: the temporary order - housing, for the housing of about a quarter of a million immigrants, who still live in tents and dilapidated temporary structures."
For the purposes of the huge housing operation, Israel was required to pay a huge sum in those days of $ 300 million.
200 million of them the state intended to raise from the "Independence Lender" and from lenders and other grants, "and with regard to the balance, we will turn again to world Jewry and ask them to open their hearts and pockets again," Dubkin concluded.
Two days before the press conference, Dubkin returned from a fundraising campaign in Jewish communities in Europe, and four days later he had already boarded a plane on his way to another fundraising campaign in ten countries in South America.
Dobkin died in 1976 at the age of 78, not long before he saw the fulfillment of his vision: the dismantling of the tents and the transfer of immigrants to housing throughout the country.
* Thanks to Dr. Mordechai Naor for the assistance
The economic crisis is getting worse: fuel consumption is plummeting
Gas station at the entrance to Tiberias, early 1950s, Photo: Zoltan Kluger, GPO
In the first week of April 1952, the fuel companies published the total orders they received from their agents during the previous month, March.
The data showed that since the publication of the government's new economic plan, in mid-February 1952, there has been a drastic drop in the use of fuels of all kinds in the transportation of buses, taxis, trucks and private cars, as well as oil for domestic use and diesel for industry.
Economic circles noted that "the fall in the use of fuels for various economic needs proves that the government's new economic policy has put great fear into the hearts of many."
"The drop will be up to 40 percent less than consumption before the economic plan is announced, and the downside of the gasoline crash is the fact that orders for car lubricants have halved in the past month, as less travel means less lubrication for various vehicles."
Indeed, the Haboker newspaper, which focused on economic issues, conducted a quick survey among gas station owners in the country and reported that "most station owners are pessimistic, as they say there are hours during the day when individual vehicles enter the station, if at all."
A further survey among taxi owners yielded similar results, and some reported: "Sometimes I sit at the taxi station for an hour or two until one call is received."
Knowledgeable sources suggested examining the employment situation in factories that have reduced their fuel purchases, "since if the decline in diesel purchases for industry comes in parallel with an increase in layoffs - we are facing a very serious crisis."
Who spends time in "card clubs"?
Card Club in Israel in the 1950s, Photo: "Israel is Visible to the Eye", IBZ Archive
"In Tel Aviv, there are hundreds of institutions for card games and gambling of various and strange types, and probably the same is true in other large cities in the country," an investigative article published in the Maariv newspaper reported in early April 1952.
The reporter, Tikva Weinstock, attached, for personal security reasons, two of her friends, and together they spent an entire night in several card clubs, dice games and roulette in the city.
Weinstock discovered that the clubs had several visions: some were housed inside a street store that had been emptied, its shop window painted so that the inside could not be seen from the outside, and the front door, which was open to a crack, was covered with a thick curtain.
Other clubs were located at the back of a business that operated day and night, such as a fish shop or butcher shop, at the back of which was a heavy door with a tiny peek window that allowed the owners of the place to examine those seeking to enter.
In addition, a great deal of activity took place in apartments throughout the city, to which regular callers would arrive in the dead of night, who were skilled in turning the place into a quiet meeting of friends, if a signal was received of police and approaching detectives.
"Our club is an English-style social club," boasted one club owner, while from another club the landlord removed Weinstock and her friends, claiming "I smell you did not come to gamble, and for entertainment you can go to the circus. I have to make a living."
Purchased without a permit - and tried
From the beginning of the austerity period, in order to maintain economic restraint, the government has determined some products for which the buyer is required to obtain a purchase license.
One of these products was an electric refrigerator, and on April 7, 1952, a man was first sued, for whom it turned out that he had made a false statement when he came to apply for a purchase license for the device.
The judge asked the defendant what was the amount of the purchase of the refrigerator, and when it replied "100 pounds" - the judge fined him that amount, and also issued a "confiscation order of the refrigerator in the defendant's yard".
Lack of carp for the holiday
Poster for consuming carp, Photo: Shenkar Archive for design
"Unfortunately, I have to inform the public that there will be no carp for the upcoming holiday, except for a limited amount that will be budgeted for the benefit of Jerusalem residents," the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dov Yosef, reported in a special broadcast on Kol Yisrael in preparation for Passover.
Yosef emphasized that "there are currently about 600 kg of meat in Israel for distribution ahead of the holiday, and another 1,200 tons on a ship making its way to Israel from Abkhaz (referring to imports from the meat factory called 'Inkuda', established in Ethiopia in 1951 by Israeli entrepreneur Yaakov Meridor. , Later Member of Knesset and Minister of the Government of Israel, DS) ".
The first shipment of the meat was indeed destined for the holiday, but it was delayed for various reasons and finally arrived at the port of Haifa only in August 1952.
Defendant: "Only Allah knows"
On April 4, 1952, 20 members of the Bedouin diaspora in the Negev were brought before the Magistrate's Court in Be'er Sheva for a speedy trial.
One of the defendants, an Israeli Bedouin who arrived in Be'er Sheva without obtaining a license, was sentenced to a fine of ten pounds.
When asked by the judge if he pleaded guilty, he replied: "Mr. Judge, only Allah knows if I am guilty or not."
Another defendant, who was caught by the Gilat Moshav guard in the northern Negev with a sack of stolen kitchen utensils, along with five prayer shawls and three chickens, explained to the judge why he had infiltrated: "for stealing."
The judge sentenced him to 16 months in prison for the infiltration and announced that "the theft will be heard at another time."
The missing / professions that once were
Tikonchik for the holiday
Photo: Nostalgia Online Archive,
Two weeks before Passover, various professionals would come to the neighborhood: the sharpener would collect dull knives from the houses and sharpen them on a grinding stone, which was mounted on the front of his bike and rotated using a vigorous pedal pedaling;
The "Politorchik" would smear the furniture with fragrant oil, which restored their life and luster;
Whereas the glazier (such as the one in the picture) would come to repair cracks in the windows or replace them;
Everyone would offer their wares on the street loudly, and livelihoods were plentiful.
The grocery store / items since
Folding furniture
Photo: Nostalgia Online Archive,
In those days, the weeks before Passover were usually devoted to one of the following two activities: Those who went to stay with relatives on Seder night made sure to purchase suitable gifts for the hosts, who met the budget they had set.
In contrast, those who hosted relatives and family members in order were busy locating or purchasing folding furniture such as a bed, table and chair - items that could be kept folded most of the year, and opened when needed.
Fear: Will there be electricity on Seder night?
Courtesy of the National Library,
In March 1952, about a month before Passover, the global Philips company, which owned a plant in Netanya that produced 2.5 million bulbs a year, announced its intention to "eliminate operations in Israel immediately."
The next day the bulbs ran out of the shops, and many feared they would spend Seder night in the dark.
Agile traders purchased the remaining bulb stock at Philips, and the ad in the photo soothed the concerns.
On the other hand, the IEC released its own alarming announcement, according to which "at the beginning of Passover, new restrictions will come into force, which will reduce the use of electricity for cooking to only two hours every evening."
Ads that were
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