The turbocharged 2000 Saab 9-5.
Hurry in for model year-end savings.

i

Don t

$349 P;.

Lease a 9-5 Sedan

The Farm Lobby

Part of the problem is that the agricul-
tural industry is the biggest consumer
of water in the country, and the agri-
cultural lobby is one of the most pow-
erful pressure groups in Israel.
Water for agricultural use is heavily
subsidized — costing 55 percent less
than water for consumers — and farm-
ers have successfully thwarted any
attempt to raise the prices. They warn
that more expensive water would make
their products more expensive on
world markets, and could be the kiss of
death to an industry that is struggling.
"For years, the biggest mistake is
that the water system in Israel has been
run by the agricultural lobby, which
has its own interests," said Yossi Inbar,
deputy director general of Israel's
Environment Ministry.
Inbar also blames the Finance
Ministry for blocking approval of
water programs over the years. The
treasury, he said, did not worry about
an imminent crisis since it calculates
water projections and needs based on a
multiyear rainfall average. This is irrel-
evant, he said, because Israel's water
sources have limited capacity, and one
dry year knocks off the positive impact
of a particularly wet year.
The Finance Ministry has argued
that before building desalinization
plants, which will end up raising the
cost of water to all consumers, subsi-
dies for farmers should be reduced.
"When you have a vital and scarce
resource, and not only don't. you sell it
at a realistic price but subsidize it heav-
ily to the biggest consumer, you inten-
sify the shortage greatly," said Zohar
Yinon, director of the water and
sewage unit at the Finance Ministry's
budget division. "The real reason that
our water sources have been over-
pumped is because water is not sold at
a price that reflects its true value."
Critics say the Finance Ministry was
unrealistic in insisting on breaking the
agricultural lobby. "It is a politically
unlikely scenario," said one business-
man involved in the water issue. He
said, "The Finance Ministry's argu-
ment is only correct if you ignore the
social implications of abandoning hun-
dreds of thousands of acres of land."
With the rapidly deteriorating situa-
tion, the future of Israeli agriculture
may no longer rest in the hands of
water subsidies, but rather with the
rain clouds that Israelis hope will come
their way this autumn.
"If we have another dry year,"
says Inbar of the Environment
Ministry, "Israeli agriculture may not
survive."

month /
mont h s

Amount due at lease inception: $3,192.99

4

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'

1, .„ .

...W7----'-'-'

.

(includes down pmt., sec. dep., acq. fee & first mo. pmt.)

Power sunroof
I
Leather seats
I
Memory
driver's
driver's seat I Harman/Kardon Audio System

,

s" ,4.'.,,

:,

t, Scheduled maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles

at no additional charge. I Take that test drive today.

it

G OSSMOM SOOB

On Telegraph. Rd. at the Tel-12 Mall, Southfield

*

248-354-3300 or Toll Free 1-800-354-5558

Subject to credit approval. 2000 Saab 9-5 4 cylinder w/5-speed manual transmission with sunroof, leather seats, memory driver's seat

and Harman/Kardon Audio System based on MSRP of $35,690.00 including destination charge. Amount due at lease inception $3,192.99

includes down payment, sec. dep., acq. fee & first months payment.

\n't°41.k.W.\ TM

1911 -2001

90 YEARS

CoP9r i9rit

Ut d I /AO / fie

Congregation B nai Moshe Celebrates its
90th Anniversary and Honors

Shalom Ralph, Sexton Emeritus

;VD

You are invited to attend Shabbat Services and the

Dedication of the Shalom Ralph Alcove

Saturday, September 16, 2000

The Dedication Ceremony will take place at oon,
followed by a Super-Duper Kiddush

Margie Charnes

Dolores Greenspan

.

Dedication Co-Chairmen

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-`1ftill'aMM.I.MMOVZSLIMMMWSM • IVIEMkt

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,ISMIkk‘kekkkkVNI

Begin your special event with the

CELEBRATIOD CODUCTIOD DIRECTORY

in our Classified Section

9/S
2000

25