An old lighter with the inscription "Nili" and "Bilu" - gift from the shipping company Sommerpin.

An old lighter with the inscription "Nili" and "Bilu" - gift from the shipping company Sommerpin.
An old lighter with NILI and BILU letters that were ships of the Sommerpin Company, gift to the passengers of the ships.

the 50's?.

Size: 8 cm in length.

Condition; new in a box.

In 1955, a businessman named Meir Halevi established a shipping company called "Sommerpin" and registered it in Geneva, Switzerland. Immediately after its establishment, Halevi began negotiations with the Government of Israel to enter as a partner in the purchase and operation of the ships purchased by the Company. In 1958, the partnership was signed between Sommerpin, the government company "Afikei Neft" and "Zim". In the agreement, the state is willing to guarantee Sumerfin's loans of $ 18 million ($ 200 million in 2016 values). In retrospect, it became apparent that the signing was done without examining the extent of the Company's shareholders' equity and its ability to repay these loans.

Following the signing, between 1960 and 1965, the joint company began an expansion process that included the opening of offices in various locations around the world, as well as the purchase of a variety of ships for transporting fuel, fish, agricultural produce, goods and passengers. The ships purchased by the Company included, inter alia, the following:

Oil tanker "Aurora" (Or Ora).

Passenger ships / ferry "Bilu" and "Nili".

The fishing boats "Hiram 1" and "Dugit".

"North Pole" and "Danielle" refrigerated cargo ships.

In 1965, the company's economic difficulties began to turn into a series of lawsuits filed by suppliers and economic partners. It was also reported that the company Sommerpin stopped paying wages to its employees. An examination of Sommerfin's financial position showed that its debts amount to approximately $ 32 million, while its property value is estimated at $ 18 million. During 1966, the company was declared bankrupt and the process of foreclosure of the assets was started by the creditors and the Government of Israel, in order to cover some of the debts. Due to the volume of the guarantees given by the Government to the Company, the Government incurred significant losses.

The disclosure of the state's guarantee to the company without checking its financial stability and the volume of its shareholders' equity caused a storm in the country, and the matter was discussed in the Knesset, the Finance Committee and even submitted to the State Comptroller. One of the suspicions raised was that the owner, Meir Halevy, managed to build good relations with significant parties in the corridors of power, and these pushed the Finance Committee to approve the state's collateral without checking for sufficient financial stability. Among other things, Minister of Finance Pinhas Sapir published the "Gift Portfolio" which included a list of bodies that benefited from donations from Meir Halevy, including the Rafi party and the Jabotinsky party. However, a shout immediately arose that the list had been hidden from Mapai.

In 1967, the Knesset continued its deliberations on the matter, while the state comptroller was asked to investigate the matter.

Sommerfin ceased operating, its offices were closed and its properties were sold. The government examination has become a political debate when each party accuses the other. No inquiry committee was appointed, no one was found who confirmed the guarantees and what he received in return. The leading party at the time, Mapai, whose members apparently approved the guarantees, dissolved the investigation, and ultimately the Finance Committee decided that the committee's decisions were correct, since all the facts about Meir Halevi were not informed. 1967 The Six Day War and the public's awareness of the affair and its lessons that were not learned.