It's A Snap
ISRAEL DIGEST'
Specially compiled by The Jerusalem Post
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Kids say Kmart/Kodak program is picture-perfect.
Consumer Prices Jump 1 Percent
STEVE STEIN STAFF WRITER
The Consumer Price Index in
Israel shot up 1 percent in
March as rising housing prices
continued to fan inflation.
Central Bureau of Statistics
economists now estimate in-
flation for 1994 will be 10 per-
cent. The government has set
its goal for inflation this year
at 8 percent.
Treasury economists were
caught by surprise, expecting
a price rise of about half a per-
T
hey learned about the en- flower bed; Amanda picked ducks and sunsets. The 'needed im-
vironment and they swimming in a lake near her provement' shots were of things
learned about photogra- home; and Greg captured a scene like water pollution and garbage.
phy. Best of all, it was fun, of birds on a beach at Sanibal Is- I thought everyone did a great
and they'd recommend it to oth- land on the Gulf of Mexico while job."
er kids.
he was on vacation.
Celebrity photographer Linda
That was the consensus of
What did the youngster's learn Solomon of Birmingham came up
three second-graders at Eagle El- about photography through "It's with the idea for the "It's A Snap"
ementary in the Farmington A Snap"?
program and presented it to
School District who participated
"Keep the main part of the Kmart, which tested it in sever-
in the new nation-wide "It's A photo in the middle of the pic- al areas in 1992.
Snap! Using Cameras in the Cur- ture," said Greg, whose grandfa-
The Troy-based retailer was
riculum" program sponsored by ther is photographer Leo Knight. pleased with the test results, so
the Kmart Corp. and Eastman
"The line of the horizon must it decided to go nation-wide this
Kodak Co.
be straight," Jamie said. "And year and it joined forces with Ko-
Jamie Hillenberg, 8, Greg don't move when you're taking a dak. Approximately 250,000
Shumer, 7, and Amanda Segal, picture."
youngsters across the country,
7, were among approximately 70
'Don't get too close to your sub- including an estimated 5,000 in
second-graders in three classes ject," Amanda said.
Detroit, are taking part in "It's A
at Eagle who took
Snap."
six pictures of things
Ms. Solomon is
in the environment
the spokesperson
they considered
for the program.
beautiful and six of
She's been criss-
areas that needed
crossing the coun-
improvement.
try in recent weeks
Each Eagle stu-
visiting schools
dent in the "It's A
and doing inter-
Snap" program re-
views.
ceived a Kodak Fun
She also nar-
Time 35mm single-
rates a 20-minute
use camera and the
videotape on the
photos were devel-
basics of photogra-
oped free by Kmart.
phy which is used
When the shots
in the curriculum.
were returned, the
Ms. Solomon
children were asked
will judge the
to select their best
national contest,
one.
taking a look at
Those pictures,
approximately
along with captions
7,500 entries to
written by the kids,
pick the top
are posted on a dis-
three winners.
play at Eagle locat-
"Studying
ed in the hallway
photography is
across from the
an excellent
Greg Shumer, Amanda Segal and Jamie
main office.
way for chil-
Hillenberg sta nd in front of the "It's A
Beginning May Snap" display at Eagle Elementary School.
dren to build
15, the start of "Kids
self-esteem and
Week at Kmart," the display will
All three students
confidence,"
be at Eagle's Kmart partner store are in Kristin Mar-
said Ms.
on Orchard Lake Road between tin's class at Eagle.
Solomon, who
13 and 14 Mile roads in Farm- Ms. Martin called the
has taught stu-
ington Hills. General manager "It's A Snap" pro-
dents as young
Jerry Takis and office manager gram "valuable, ben-
as age 3.
Katie Smith are the store's "It's eficial and a positive
"This is the
A Snap" liasions with the school. experience for the
most reward-
Every Eagle student in the kids. They were very
ing project I've
program will receive a "Certifi- enthusiastic about it.
ever done," she
cate of Achievement" and the Maybe some of these Linda Solomon, nationally known added. "I got
photojournalist and "It's a Snap!"
school's grand-, first- and second- youngsters will make spokesperson.
my first cam-
place winners will be entered in photography or tak-
era when I was
a national contest.
ing care of our environment their 5, so I know how photography
Jamie, Greg and Amanda all career because of what they can change your life. I think you
selected one of their "beautiful" learned.
learn to appreciate life more
photos as their best. Jamie took
"Most of the kids' beautiful' when you're interested in pho-
a shot of a neighbor's rock and photos were of trees, water, birds tography." ❑
cent for last month. But
Jonathan Katz, head of Eco
nomic Modeling and Forecast-
ing, expected the higher index
based on the increase of hous-
ing prices at the end of last
year.
Mr. Katz said in the coming
months he expects to see the
moderating impact of the stock
market's sharp downturn ear-
lier this year on housing prices.
Problems Threaten Economy
Federation of Israeli Chambers
of Commerce economists re-
ported that although there are
no significant signs of a slow-
down, political and security
problems are threatening the
Israeli economy with instabili-
ty.
According to the economists,
most indicators until the end of
last month were positive. Tax
revenues were up,industrial
production rose, imports of pro-
duction inputs and of machin-
ery and equipment increased,
retail trade expanded and the
number ofjob seekers fell.
The only negative indicators
were the drop in industrial ex-
ports and in job offers. The re-
cent closure will have a harsh
impact on agriculture and on
building. The economists esti-
mate the harm suffered by the
housing industry will have
wider repercussions on the
economy, affecting growth and
pushing up interest rates.
Employment Picture Brightens
The number of Israeli jobless along with some worrying
who registered with the Em- trends - more jobless going
ployment Service last month longer without work, resistance
dropped 5.3 percent, following to positive change in the Negev
the trend of the 7.6 percent and other depressed areas,
drop in February.
jobless who are not ready to
But Minister of Labor and take the work available and a
Social Affairs Ora Namir pre- grim picture ofjob offers.
sented the positive statistics
More Wool For Laura Ashley
Polgat Industries' textile plant
in Ofakim, Israel, is expected
to increase its sales of wool fab-
rics to British fashion house
Laura Ashley this year by.66
percent.
In 1993, the factory export-
ed 3.5 million meters of wool
fabric, mainly to Great Britain
and the United States. Last
year the plant had $60 million
worth of total sales.
The Tourists Are Coming!
The Hebron massacre appar-
ently did not deter many
tourists to Israel last month as
some 177,100 of them visited,
the Central Bureau of Statis-
tics reported.
The March figures represent
a 37 percent jump in visitors
compared to the previous
month. During the first quar-
ter of the year, 415,800 tourists
visited, an 18 percent increase
compared to the previous quar-
ter.