From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 15, 2024
Culture and sports minister agrees to budget cuts in light of war
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar reaches an agreement with the Finance Ministry on his 2024 budget, announcing that he has accepted a “horizontal cut in all sections of the ministry without exception in the amount of about 8% which is about NIS 180 million ($48 million).”
This comes on top of a NIS 245 million ($65 million) cut to the ministry’s facilities fund. In addition, “the library budget will be reduced in favor of the war effort to allow an increase in the defense budget and budgets for the needs of the war,” Zohar’s office says in a statement.
“Culture and sports are the basis of a normal and successful civil society and are a symbol of strength and stability in wartime,” Zohar says, following an all-night cabinet meeting that ended this morning after ministers failed to reach a consensus on budget cuts that would allow them to advance an amended 2024 state budget.
“During the night I fought so as not to harm the base of the budget and to prevent long-term damage to the worlds of culture and sports,” he says.
The Times of Israel Community.