The National Parents’ Association has sent out a letter calling on parents to boycott the annual 11th grade trip to Poland this year due to an increase in the price of the trip. Thousands of Israeli students visit former ghettos and concentration camps in Poland each year, and the first trips of 2007 are leaving in the upcoming weeks. “The association sees great importance in the trips and in children’s connection to the history of the people of Israel, but will not let the trips be only for the rich,” the letter explained.
The trips became significantly more expensive recently, and only 6,500 students have signed up for trips in 2008, as opposed to 7,500 the year before. The government subsidy covers only NIS 500 of the NIS 7,000 cost, said Parents' Association head Itzik Maimon. The current cost of the trip is roughly equal to the average monthly salary in Israel, he said.