Government to reinstate arts budget

The pressure put on the government by various cultural institutions has proven effective, as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided to reduce the planned cutbacks on government funding of the arts in 2008.

The Prime Minister's Office ordered Thursday the immediate transfer of $9 million to various art and culture institutions, with an additional $5 million to be funneled to them in the course of 2008. Overall, the government will allocate $114.15 million for the arts in 2008.

The funds were agreed on in a meeting between Cabinet Secretary Oved Yehezkel, Kobi Haber, head of the finance ministry's budget division and the heads of the Israeli Forum for the Arts (IFA).

The IFA, who organized mass rallies in protest of the planned cutbacks, welcomed the decision, but was still critical of the government for failing to pass an arts and culture bill, which would ensure government funding.

Fighting for the arts. An IFA rally in Tel Aviv (Photo: Merav Yudilovitch)

The lobby for Israeli culture, however, was not very happy with the news: "We, along with the IFA will continue to fight for the necessary laws that will ensure regular government funding for the arts," they said in a statement. "Unfortunately, is seems that all the prime minister's office is interested in is getting rid of the headache we cause them.

"Giving us the funds now is just the PMO's way to ensure next year's budget goes through quietly."

Yoram Hatab, chairman of Shaham – the screen actors' union – slammed the agreement: "This agreement is hardly something to be proud of," he told Ynet.

"The government cuts back on funds that are rightfully ours, than they annul the cutbacks and we are supposed to be grateful for the obvious?"

Hatab criticized the IFA's decision to sign off on the agreement offered by the Treasury, saying it would lead to "a false sense of calm" in the industry.

"Is this really what we were fighting for? This agreement is unenforceable in the long run… it's nothing more than a sleeping pill, made to take the issue of the table and out of the public eye.

"Any short-term solution misses the point. The IFA allowed Olmert to shrug off any responsibility for the situation… Shaham cannot and will not agree to it," added Hatab.

"The IFA fought for three goals: Returning the 2008 budget to $114 million, forming an interim agreement that would protect the budget from future cutback and the institution of an arts and culture bill," said a statement by the organization.

"With the first two goals achieved, we can not forge on in our fight for the arts bill… we are taking it one day at a time in order to survive in the long run."