“Come to Israel� was the message of Israel’s Minister of Tourism Isaac Herzog. He and fellow MK Yuli Tamir, Israel’s minister of education, spoke to General Assembly participants about the pressing need to invest in Israel.
With the help of Moshe Oofnik, a new Muppet who lives on “Rehov Sumsum� and hates people who are polite, the two MKs highlighted progress in the past year, and future goals.
Herzog said the Diaspora needs to foster an economic boost in Israel, and asked Jews to travel there in the coming year to make up for a 40 percent drop in the tourism industry.
“We were expecting the best year in tourism,� Herzog said. But the Hezbollah-Israel war caused a drastic decrease in tourists, despite a worldwide gain in the industry.
“One of the engines of the economy is tourism,� he said, citing the cultural assets in Israel such as Biblical sites, a diversity of ecosystems and more than 350 hotels.
The education system was also hit hard by the war, Minister Tamir said.
After rockets stopped raining on northern Israel, Tamir said there was a lot of additional help needed to rebuild the schools and welcome back students.
Tamir said the schools in the north were restored, more than 100,000 children attended summer camp and some received psychological help to cope with the situation. The plan for the coming year is to build 70 new schools, Tamir said.
Now the challenge is to entice parents to stay in the north, Tamir said. She said the ministry is doing this by offering small group tutoring to offset the large class sizes, helping near-failing high school students obtain their diplomas and encouraging local leadership.
“I think Israel needs better schools,� the minister said. Her U.S. visit has included looking at successful American public, private and charter schools.