To The Editor:
When told that the French people were too poor to afford
bread, Queen Marie Antoinette once said "Let them eat cake!"
Is Prime Minister Sharon really this out of touch with the
needs of his people?
Increasing the price of bread is possibly one of the most
shortsighted decisions ever made. The gap between rich and
poor in Israel is already a widening gulf. The latest NII
figures show that the monthly household income for the top-
earning 10 percent in Israel is over 12 times higher than in
the bottom 10 percent, and the poor are only getting poorer.
Benefit cuts are now compounded by rising prices for food and
heating, which will hit children and the elderly hardest of
all this winter. Any compassionate government would be
looking to protect its weakest citizens.
As one of the country's largest humanitarian organizations,
Hazon Yeshaya is doing as much as we can to rescue the one in
five Israelis who are suffering from poverty and food
insecurity by producing and distributing 7,000 hot meals
daily, but the charity sector cannot be expected to take
responsibility for Israel's children and elderly.
Rabbi Abraham Israel
Founder and Volunteer Director, Hazon Yeshaya
