10 years since social protests: Food producers afraid to raise prices, but housing market soars

Ten years after Israel’s summer of social protests, the outcry over the prices of cottage cheese and other foods can be deemed a success, while the tent protest against high real-estate prices is a failure, according to BDO Israel chief economist Chen Herzog.

The spontaneous protests of 2011 drew hundreds of thousands of protesters from all socioeconomic and religious backgrounds to the streets to object to the continuing rise in the cost of living. A sharp rise in the price of cottage cheese was one of the early sparks for the protests, and the dairy companies’ subsequent decision to cancel the increase spurred the momentum for further protests.

Since that time, the index of food prices in Israel has risen only 1.8%, one of the lowest rates in the OECD, Herzog’s report found. Food prices in OECD countries rose an average of 16% over the past decade.

Factoring in the average 30% salary increase during the same period, the cost of food has declined 28% over the past decade in relative terms, Herzog wrote, despite increased spending on food and a rise in restaurant visits and purchases of readymade meals outside the home.

Prices for nearly all consumer products,

In the aftermath of the Gaza war, known as Guardian of the Walls, Israel has halted the entry of dual-use items necessary for civilian reconstruction pending the creation of a mechanism to prevent Hamas from seizing the material for its attack tunnels.

Israel has also linked the full reopening of the crossings with Hamas returning the remains of the two soldiers presumed killed during Operation Protective Edge, the 2014 Gaza war, and two Israeli civilians held captive there.

Egyptian-brokered indirect talks between Israel and Hamas for a permanent ceasefire that would include issues of humanitarian aid and the hostages have not yet yielded results. The UN, which oversees the bulk of the humanitarian aid to Gaza, is also involved in the talks, particularly Wennesland.

The issue of Gaza aid is also expected to be raised at Tuesday’s virtual Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting, which oversees donor funding to the Palestinians.

The AHLC typically meets twice a year, in the spring and on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. This year, the 15-member body, which includes representatives from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the US and the UN, is holding a special virtual meeting on Gaza.

The UN is expected to present a needs assessment report for Gaza at the meeting.

At the UN in New York last Thursday, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said, “I join the appeals to Israel to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials into Gaza.”

“I also urge Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza to refrain from attacks and provocations that would again destabilize the situation,” she said.

“We must avoid short-term fixes and focus on how we can work toward resolving the deadlock in Gaza and the Palestinian divide. Sustaining ceasefires and improving arrangements on the ground are important elements of UN preventive diplomacy, which aims to create space for political action,” DiCarlo said.