The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (JSO), the oldest musical institution in Jerusalem, is in danger of closing down on the eve of its 70th anniversary due to severe budget cuts at the Israel Broadcast Authority (IBA). The decision contradicts agreements reached between the IBA and the JSO, and a decision reached by the Knesset State Controllers committee earlier this year that states no changes can be made in the JSO budget without government approval.
The IBA, who provides NIS 11 million of the NIS 15 million JSO budget, notified the orchestra this week that its funding will be cut by 60%. In addition, it stipulated that the remaining NIS 5 million will only be allocated if matched by funds from the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Jerusalem.
Four years ago the JSO was put into receivership due to mismanagement and was in danger of being liquidated. In an heroic effort by the musicians, who agreed to reduce their salaries to help cover the debt, and Leon Botstein, world-renowned musicologist, who accepted the position of music director and principal conductor and formed the American Friends of the JSO to raise additional funds, the orchestra has been on a steady path of recovery. Its recent artistic and financial successes include tours, international broadcasts, premieres of new Israeli work and extensive community support in the US and elsewhere.
According to JSO receiver Adv. Yitzhak Yunger, “The orchestra will not be able to exist on this budget. Contrary to my hope that the orchestra could finally go out of receivership, I now have to inform the courts that the future of the orchestra is uncertain.”
Yossi Tal-Gan, Director General of the JSO, points out that “the current cost of the orchestra is minuscule in the context of the budget of the IBA. This action will not solve the financial difficulties of IBA, in whose budget the orchestra represents less than 2% of total expenditure, operates without a deficit but a surplus, and is repaying debts incurred by past mismanagement.”
Leon Botstein, who has contributed his salary to the orchestra for the past four years to help its recovery, is shocked by this development. “It is my hope that the Israeli public will override the machinations of rival bureaucratic factions in the government, and that the Knesset, Prime Minister and new President will act swiftly to preserve and strengthen this vital and historic institution on the eve of its 70th anniversary and of the 60th anniversary of the state of Israel,” said Botstein. “I am sure that wiser heads will prevail and the outcome will be positive, securing the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra as the major part of Jerusalem's secular culture.”
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