38
Friday, October 11, 1985
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
LIFE IN ISRAEL
Something
Continued from preceding page
professional
Making ends meet, Avra-
ham and Zehava stress, is
connected with attitude: "It
depends on how one looks at
oneself. It has a lot to do with
being independent — some
people look at others and ask,
'Why haven't I got what they
have?' We don't see it that
way, we're not miskenim."
Added to Avraham's sal-
ary of IS700,000 is national
insurance for the children's
allowances of about IS300,000,
which brings the total month-
ly income to just about IS1
million, comparable to' the
Sachs' income for three
children.
Although Avraham and Ze2-
hava's flat is spacious, and
the garden is an asset when
one has a large family, there
is very little apart from the
basic furniture and television
set.
Food is their major ex-
pense, and shopping is done
once a week. "We have chick-
en on Friday night, and eat
the remainder on Saturday
and Sunday if there is still
any left. I make cake for Fri-
day night."
Avraham does the shop-
ping for fruit and vegetables
at Mahane Yehuda at midday,
on Friday, when prices are
lower, and carts it home with
him on the bus. Sugar, flour,
and oil are bought once a
month at a store in Givat
Shaul, which, Zahava finds, is
much cheaper than the large
supermarkets.
The family's diet — and a
healthy one — consists of
eggs, white cheese and vege-
tables. Clothes for six are a
problem. Zehava gets some
from friends, but not in good
enough condition for the
children to wear outside the
home. Otherwise she buys
second-hand, and, unlike
many sabras, does not feel
that any stigma is involved
in this.
Avraham is more philo-
sophical; bad as the situation
is at present, he is not too
pessimistic: "I felt during
Aridor's term as finance
minister that the country was
behaving like nouveau riche
— splashing its wealth
around, overdoing the buying
of videos, new cars, trips
abroad. It was an uncultured
way of spending money.
"I knew we would learn
afterwards what would be
lacking — what I predicted is
now happening. What we
lack now is not in terms of
videos — it means cuts in our
children's education; it means
someone dies because there
was no money for an am-
bulance; it means a woman
soldier is assaulted because
she took a lift when she
couldn't afford the bas fare."
Avraham himself has al-
ways been inclined not to
spend savings on current con-
sumption. "My inclination
has been to spend savings on
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substantial items like a car,
iron grill-work, storm win-
dows or screens. We've been
planning to buy a car for 18
months — and we're not close
to it now. Sudden expenses
like dentist bills mean scrap-
ing the barrel, the top limit of
overdraft, and postponing
other things."
Part of the problem today
is not the lack of things or of
money — Israel has survived
other periods of austerity.
The basic problem today,
says Zehava, is that people
don't have confidence in the
ability of the government to
manage the economy.
Over in Talpiot are two im-
migrant families, Rhonda and
Joel Schnitzler and Joel's
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"Thinking about
money all the time,
wondering how to
pay for things we
need, is awful."
sister Debra and her hus-
band, Sam Konigsberg.
The two families, both Or-
thodox, immigrated together,
each with four children, from
Queens, New York, to the
Mevasseret Zion absorption
centre two years .ago. They
moved into flats of their own
a year ago — the Schnitzlers
to Talpiot, the Konigsbergs
to French Hill. The couples
got married within a month
of each other, they each have
two boys and two girls, aged
from 10 years downwards,
and they are also close in
their attitudes to. Isreal and
to the country's present econ-
mic woes.
Neither woman works out-
side the home, so in each case
six people are dependent
upon the husband's salary,
and the national insurance
children's allowance. Joel
makes about IS700,000 for
his work as a pattern-maker
at a clothing factory; Sam
makes about IS500,000 as an
electronic technician at a
company in Raniot.
"If we lived in Tel Aviv,
our salaries would be much
higher," they believe, "at
least 20 percent more."
Nevertheless, how do they
make it through the month?
They bought much of their
furniture new, and their ap-
pliances were bought with
immigrants' rights. They
bought the Eats with Jewish
Agency help, so the mort-
gages are not a burden. "The
child allOwances pay our
mortgage each month, ' says
Debra. , -
Joel's major mistake, he
says, was in buying a car
with too big an engine. It's
too expensive to run, so he
and Rhonda go out much less
than they used to. Sam and
t!fey",o;14,!,“
"""74,19
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