Following an examination conducted by the food inspector in various countries around the world regarding the average daily consumption of bread, it became clear that the daily consumption in Israel per person is double and even more compared to Western countries - a figure that did not make sense in any way.
Therefore, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry concluded that in Israel there is a phenomenon of horrendous waste of bread, for various reasons.
One of the claims was that hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors living in Israel are hoarding bread in large quantities due to the trauma they experienced during the years of famine and inferno.
Following this, the food inspector put on the government's table a proposal to reduce the weight of the uniform bread in Israel from 900 grams to only 800.
In the debate that developed on the issue at the cabinet meeting, held in early March 1953, Finance Minister Levi Eshkol announced: "As far as I'm concerned, there is no objection to approving the proposal, but on the condition that the price of bread does not decrease at the same time as its weight is reduced."
The sting of the rich widow: divorced, married - and cheated
Natan Schwartz, a 40-year-old divorced resident of Kfar Bilo, was arrested on March 1, 1953, on charges of deliberately defrauding a widow (whom he had been married to for a short time before the arrest) in the amount of 11,000 lira - a huge sum in those days, which could buy two or three apartments in Tel Aviv.
Schwartz's first wife, Frieda, was also brought in for questioning by the police, on the suspicion that she helped her "former" husband empty his second wife's account - this after he agreed with his first wife to get a divorce only for the sake of it, so that he could marry the rich widow and fraudulently take money from her.
The police's suspicions grew after the detectives involved in the investigation visited the Bilo village and spoke with the neighbors of the Schwartz couple. It became clear from the evidence that even though the couple had announced their divorce, the divorced Schwartz still came to visit his "ex-wife" almost every day, bringing with him large packages that appeared to be gifts. Large sums of money were found in the divorcee's bank account, which were deposited into her account not long ago.
Eilat is four years old
In the presence of the country's president Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and many dignitaries who arrived on special flights from the center of the country, Eilat celebrated its fourth birthday at the beginning of March 1953.
The president, who arrived in one of the two Dakota planes that took the AHM to the south, was received on a platform of honor that was set up facing the sea, in front of the building next to which the "ink flag" was raised on the day of the occupation of Eilat on March 10, 1949.
At the foot of the stage gathered some of the 279 residents who lived in Eilat in 1953, alongside guests from all over the country who came to celebrate with the settlement point that was then defined as "the most remote in Israel".
Eilat 1952,
Yigal Alon, who was the commander of the Southern Front during the War of Independence, read to those present the content of the telegram sent to Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion on the day of the occupation of Eilat: "Transmit it to the Israeli government - the Negev, Palmach and Golani brigades present the Gulf of Eilat to the State of Israel." Alon presented the president with the original telegram for the shift, to loud applause from the audience.
Immediately afterwards, various departments representing the IDF troops marched with their flags in front of the podium, on Mesa Avenue, to the sound of the Southern Command Band. Later, a tribute parade was held, and one by one, open trucks passed by carrying displays symbolizing the achievements of the pioneer residents.
Thus, for example, huge loaves of bread and Shabbat bread symbolized the values of the family and the connection to Judaism;
Tanned and sturdy miners presented sacks of phosphates mined in the southern Negev, as a symbol of the value of work;
And Gdanim from the nearby Be'er Ora displayed onion, radish and tomato crops as a symbol of the connection with agriculture. The highlight was the last truck, which carried the greatest achievement of all: 30 toddlers - the children of the pioneer settlers.
"Culture in Israel has no proper hall"
"Tel Aviv is the cultural capital of Israel, where plays are supposed to be developed that will glorify and enrich the culture of the young country," wrote the actor and journalist Azaria Rapoport in the "Maariv" newspaper in early March 1953.
Rapoport, who would later become famous as a popular commentator on Kol Israel, wondered: "How will original plays be staged here, when there is not even one medical theater in the big city, to which guests from abroad can be brought without blushing with shame? And this is in addition to the Philharmonic's needs for performances, recitals and one-man shows. Even in the most remote towns in Eastern Europe, there are no longer exhibitors in shabby, smelly and dilapidated spaces like we have in Tel Aviv."
A tent there with the philanthropist Shmuel Blum, photo: courtesy of the Bialik Museum
Indeed, the situation in those days was very bad.
In 1946, the Bhima Theater opened, but the building suffered from poor acoustics as a result of a lack of budget during the final stages of construction.
The basement space below the "Moghrabi" cinema (later Cinema Studio), which had been used since the 1930s as a hostel for several theaters on and off, had not been renovated over the decades and turned into a shabby den, and the sounds of the speakers from the films shown on the floor above sometimes overpowered the words of the actors.
The hall in the "Arlozorov House" (Bilinson St., later the "Ahel" theater building), which also hosted performances by various theaters, also became outdated.
His chairs creaked loudly, the lighting was poor and the screen was eaten by a moth that also damaged the sets.
The situation of "Ahal Shem", on Balfour Street, was also similar.
Rapoport ended his article by writing: "It would be good if the capitalists would free up their time to build theater halls, instead of the cinemas that have sprung up here in recent years on every corner."
The football league season opened with the Tel Aviv derby
On February 27, 1953, 12 soccer teams began playing in the 1953/4 season of the first league.
Already in the first round, an intriguing derby was scheduled between Maccabi Tel Aviv, the national champion of the previous year (pictured), and the one who was chasing it throughout the season - Hapoel Tel Aviv.
The exciting match was held at the "Bassa" stadium in Hippo (now Bloomfield), and at the end of a balanced and goalless half, Maccabi managed to conquer Hapoel's goal three times: Shia Glazer was the first, followed by Israeli Hershit Shmuel (Papu) twice, and Maccabi won 0:3 - and won both points .
Maccabi also won the championship at the end of this season.
Tel Aviv derby, photo: photo courtesy of "Yishragol, the Israeli football encyclopedia"
The disappearing ones: a gas lighter
Since the mid-1930s, the "Ran" company has produced batteries (batteries) of various sizes, in a factory that operated in Tel Aviv.
One of the batteries was used to power a pocket flashlight produced by the company, which was considered very popular in those years due to its flat shape and small dimensions and due to the strength of the battery.
In the 1950s, when household gas installations for cooking became more and more common in Israel, "Ran" produced a special gas igniter (pictured) that connected to the top of the battery - and this product soon became very popular in the settlement.
In 1960, "Ran" merged with the electronics factory "Tadir" - and thus the joint company "Tadiran" was established.
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