Minister of Culture and Sport Miki Zohar announces that for the first time his ministry will subsidize the tuition fees of students in a number of institutions of arts and acting/PR
The Finance Ministry intends to cut a huge sum of about 25% from the budget of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, about NIS 500 million, Haaretz reported on Thursday. Culture Minister Miki Zohar confirmed this tonight to Walla! "Unfortunately, this is the request that came from the treasury. I am in dialogue with them, hoping that we will avoid a difficult struggle." Yesterday, the Ministry of Culture and Sport said that "as part of the across-the-board cuts of all government ministries, the Ministry of Culture and Sport received the draft document from the Ministry of Finance. These days, Minister Miki Zohar is working together with the professionals in the ministry with the finance ministry in order to prevent the collapse of the world of culture and sports in Israel."
It is not yet known what programs, projects and industries will be cut at the Ministry of Culture. The step stems from across-the-board cuts in government ministries, which in turn leads to damage to the additions Minister Zohar received to various programs and projects. On Sunday, the government will debate and vote on the revised state budget.
"It's a disaster, it's crazy, 250 million is a cut that will hurt everyone, everything possible in the office, including current regulations, not to mention the projects and scholarships that opened recently," LaValle said. Culture source in the Ministry of Culture: "The minister intends to act with all his might vis-à-vis the Ministry of Finance in order to prevent this decree. He stands on his hind legs. The goal is to put pressure on the treasury. I hope the minister will at least be able to minimize the damage."
The Forum of Cultural and Art Institutions said in response that it "wishes to avoid harming artists and organizations that with very low budgets are doing large activities. Culture is vital, especially in times like these, and also contributes to moving the economy, national and mental resilience, and creating routine during the difficult times we are going through. The Forum believes that just as the minister fought for the aid that prevented the collapse of the bodies, he will fight to preserve cultural activity and creativity."
"In dialogue with the treasury, in the hope that we will avoid a difficult struggle." Minister of Culture and Sport Miki Zohar/Reuven Castro
One of the expected blows to the Ministry of Culture's budget, which was supposed to be implemented this month, is Minister Zohar's plan to subsidize by 50% the tuition fees of male and female students in a number of institutions in the arts and acting professions, supported by the Ministry of Culture, a plan first reported in Walla! Culture. The expected investment was supposed to be NIS 26 million in an academic year.
In addition to cutting NIS 500 million, the Ministry of Finance also intends to cut NIS 25 million from the budget for funding public libraries and change the Libraries Law. Following this intention, a communiqué was published yesterday on behalf of the Writers' Protest in Israel, signed by, among others, David Grossman, Zruya Shalev, Eshkol Nevo, Sami Michael and Roni Somek, and more. Among other things, it said: "We view with severity any attempt to harm the budget of public libraries. The libraries are scattered from Dan to Eilat, they are not only a place to lend books, but active and dedicated cultural, social and intellectual centers. Since the enactment of the Libraries Law, for the past 20 years, the library budget has not changed. The reduction of the budget not on a one-time basis, but rather its determination in the form of an amendment to the Libraries Law, will cause lasting damage to their ability to operate for years to come. It is inconceivable that the government of Israel and the Knesset will continue the future of readers in Israel precisely in times of war, a time when it has been proven how much culture and literature save lives."
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