Earning the big bucks

It's that time of year again, when pop stars are running from one gig to another on the eve of Independence Day.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Pop stars (illustrative) (photo credit: Courtesy: Jimmy Katz)
Pop stars (illustrative)
(photo credit: Courtesy: Jimmy Katz)
■ IT’S THAT time of year again, when pop stars are running from one gig to another on the eve of Independence Day and are raking in heaps of money from municipal coffers, even where municipalities are operating under huge deficits.
The prime example is the fee of NIS 160,000 that Eyal Golan, who last week celebrated his 41st birthday, will receive from the Acre Municipality for a 45- minute performance. Acre Mayor Shimon Lankry believes that even though his city has a NIS 39 million deficit, residents of peripheral areas should not be denied the pleasure of a big-name star on Independence Day.
Acre shelled out not only for Golan but also for Ethnix (NIS 130,000) and Idan Yaniv, who will receive the more modest sum of NIS 30,000. Golan, who also has gigs in Haifa, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Bialik and Kiryat Ata, will be the entertainment industry’s top moneymaker this coming Independence Day.
As far as big money for a single performance goes, Kobi Peretz, who will receive NIS 145,000 from the Petah Tikva Municipality, is in second place but has fewer gigs than Golan. Sarit Hadad commands the third-highest sum, getting NIS 120,000 from Rishon Lezion. She will also be making appearances in Or Yehuda and Yehud. Rita and ex-husband Rami Kleinstein will both be appearing in Haifa, but not at the same time.
There are several factors that determine how much a performer gets paid. First and foremost is the budget that any municipality has set aside for Independence Day entertainment. Second is the number of songs each performer will sing, and third is the amount of time involved in presenting their act. All the above should be taken into account in relation to the total amount being paid by the Rehovot Municipality to Margalit Tsanani, Dana International, Matti Caspi and David D’Or, which in round figures comes to slightly less than NIS 40,000 in excess of what Golan will be receiving in Acre.
■ MEANWHILE A number of mayors who have been investigated by police, who in most cases have recommended indictment on various charges of corruption, are still happily carrying on with business as usual. The most high profile of these is Bat Yam Mayor Shlomi Lahiani, who has no qualms about giving media interviews and will soon be appearing on Channel 2’s Dancing with the Stars.
Other mayors who are in line to appear in court or already have faced a judge but are still roaming free are Petah Tikva Mayor Yitzhak Ohayon, Hadera Mayor Haim Avitan, Ramat Hasharon Mayor Yitzhak Rochberger, who is known as the singing mayor, Ramat Gan Mayor Zvi Bar and Upper Nazareth Mayor Shimon Gaspo.
■ IT’S JUST as well that Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, who presides over the Mount Herzl opening of Independence Day ceremonies, is a proud native son of Jerusalem who injects the name of Israel’s capital into most of his conversations.
The reason for noting this is that none of the 13 beacon lighters at this year’s ceremony are Jerusalemites. This may be because the theme of this year’s ceremony is Water – the Source of Life.
Although Jerusalem does have some wells, it is basically lacking in water resources. The beacon lighters are Esther Avraham, a Wingate Institute graduate who works as a hydrotherapist for disabled civilians and IDF veterans; Maya Brown, a 12th-grade student at the Moshe Sharett School in Netivot who won first prize in a young scientist competition for her invention on Water Purification via Solar Radiation; Rubik Danilovitz, mayor of Beersheba (the city noted for its association with the Patriarch Abraham’s well), who will represent the residents of his city and the South who are under terrorist attack from Gaza and are showing exemplary national fortitude; Alex Wiznitzer, Mekorot chairman of the board; Moshe Cohen, a civil engineer for the Jewish National Fund, which has been the main element behind the establishment of approximately 220 water reservoirs around the country; Lior Lafber, a 12th-grade student at the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa who is a counselor in the Scouts youth movement maritime group and will join the Israel Navy next year; Uri Moran, educator at the Mossensohn Youth Village in Hod Hasharon, specializing in the teaching of water recycling, water conservation and soil preservation; Herzl Naor, a hydrology expert who for decades has been responsible for developing water resources in the Arava; Orit Scotelski, a doctoral student in ecology and environmental policy who coordinates water affairs for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority’s Environmental Preservation Department; Shlomo Tzewiler, a farmer from Hod Hasharon who has developed irrigation systems that save water and has educated fellow farmers and young people on water conservation; Prof. (emeritus) Menachem Rebhun, an expert on water quality and treatment, and water and wastewater treatment and recycling; Dr. Hanna Rosenfeld, a scientist at the National Center for Mariculture in Eilat; and Giora Shaham, a water systems analyst who planned and directed the Hula Valley reflooding project and is involved in planning the future shorelines of Lake Kinneret.