JERUSALEM, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri ordered on Tuesday to limit the payments to entertainers for their performances on Independence Day's eve, following an uproar over the misuse of public funds.
Every year, on the eve of Israel's Independence Day, which falls on May 8 this year, performances by singers and dancers are held in city centers for celebration.
Ahead of this year's Independence Day, Israeli media published the amounts of money to be paid by the municipalities to pop singers, which have aroused strong criticism from the public.
The highest amount of money to be paid this year is 292,000 new shekels (about 81,000 U.S. dollars) for each performance.
The report incurred harsh criticism of the cities for paying public money to singers instead of providing funds to education, welfare and other important local services.
Under the criticism, Deri announced that starting from 2020, the payment to a singer will be limited to up to 70,000 new shekels for one-hour performance.
"There is no reason why weakened municipalities should pay huge sums of money to singers above and beyond their abilities, leading to heavy deficits," Deri said.
Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948, but it celebrates the Independence Day every year according to the Hebrew calendar.
