Israelis Angry With Soaring Prices as Hope For Change Persists

According to estimates, real estate price have jumped 15 percent since the beginning of 2022. A spike has also been registered in the price of bread, dairy products and fuel. The result is that many can barely make ends meet.

On July 2, thousands will take to the Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv to protest the high costs of living.

Gal Shor, one of the organizers of the event, says the idea to stage a demonstration occurred to him several weeks ago, when he discovered that the owner of his apartment had raised his rent, something he could not cope with.

"I spoke to my friends and they told me I was not alone. Many others have experienced that too. So I asked what could have been done about that and I was advised to stage a demonstration," he recalls.

Soaring Prices

According to estimates, prices on real estate have jumped by more than 15 percent in 2022, making the prospect of ownership remote for many residents. The price of basic food products is also rising, including bread and milk; fuel and electricity bills are climbing as well. As a result, many Israelis can barely make ends meet.

Israel has seen it before. In 2011, tens of thousands took to the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities across the country to demand that the government lower food and real estate prices. At the time, the demonstrations prompted authorities to lift the minimum salary 38 percent. They also led to the creation of several committees that aimed to check what had gone wrong with prices. They were expected to offer ways to solve the crisis.

Israeli protesters carry large Israeli flag (File)

© AP Photo / Sebastian Scheiner

However, more than a decade after those rallies, Israelis now realize that nothing has really been done and that the situation is only getting worse.

Some politicians, as well as the Israeli media, have blamed Russia and its military operation in Ukraine for the surge in prices, as the event triggered higher costs for energy-related products. Shor, however, says these are no more than "convenient excuses".

"If it was only high prices on fuel, I would have understood this explanation. But it is virtually everywhere. We are paying so many taxes, and this is something the government can dramatically reduce."

Reports suggest that Israel ranks 10th in the OECD in terms of the taxes its citizens pay when it comes to real estate. Israelis are also forking out a pretty penny on fuel, with 61 percent of its cost going to the government and its socio-economic projects.

Hope for a Better Future

Shor admits he is not an economist and he doesn't know what needs to be done to solve the current crisis. He says he leaves it to professionals and politicians, whose job is "to come up with solutions" but he hopes they will be able to produce results.

Right now, it will be difficult. Israel has just entered another period of political instability, with the country expected to go to the polls in either October or November. Politicians will use this time to disperse promises left, right and center. And Shor says it will largely depend on the persistence of the masses to make sure their words end up translating into actions.

"In France, when prices went up, the entire country was on its feet. Here, Israelis are good at venting their anger on Facebook, not on the ground," explains Shor. "This is not the way we can solve the crisis. We need to keep this protest alive in the headlines. If it continues to be relevant, politicians will finally do something."

What happens if they won't? Shor is terrified of this posibility.

"All I want is to live in Israel with dignity. I don't want to move from the city I currently live in, I don't want to rely on the assistance of my parents. And I am not losing hope that this can be achieved one day. If it doesn't happen, I will need to re-route. I will probably need to leave but this is the last resort."