Netanyahu tells ministers to limit flights abroad to save cash

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked his cabinet ministers to cut back on nonessential flights abroad in an effort to reduce government expenditures. In light of the financial situation we must “set a personal example,” he told the ministers on Sunday.

Ministers’ travel expenses are paid for by the public, and “we don’t have [enough of] a budget,” Netanyahu told his cabinet. Ministers were asked to travel only when the trips were necessary and important for the country.

Netanyahu said the financial situation was the worst it has been in the past 80 years. The global crisis was taking a toll on citizens of all countries, he said, “especially the developed countries, including the citizens of Israel.”

It was time to “tighten the belt” and make hard choices to save the economy, the prime minister said. Such moves will be hard on the public, he acknowledged.

The prime minister stressed his government was also trying to ease the financial burden on the working class, and ran through a list of measures taken in recent months. Providing state-sponsored education from the age of three and free dental care, and breaking the monopoly of cellphone providers, were some of those moves, Netanyahu said.

On Friday Netanyahu announced he would travel to New York in late September, where he will address the UN General Assembly.