BICOM

The cost of living is once again an issue for debate in Israel after a grocery bill from Berlin went viral over social networks.

A member of a Facebook group for Israeli ex-patriots in Berlin posted a photograph of his grocery receipt from an Aldi supermarket and noted that the same food in Israel would come to almost three times the bill.

Initially, several Israeli commentators and officials attacked the post as unpatriotic, but the post has reignited the debate over the price of basic food in Israel. In June 2011, the “cottage cheese protest”, sparked by high prices of basic goods, sparked a broader social justice movement that led to mass protests and tent-camps on Israeli streets.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid today told Ynet that he was considering price controls on more basic goods as a route to lowering prices.

Mr Lapid presented his budget to the cabinet this week. It includes partial-privatisation of some government-owned utilities and industries, spending increases for health and education but cuts elsewhere to pay for extra expenses incurred by the summer’s conflict. The budget also increases Israel’s deficit, which some economists consider to be risky. Most notably, it will include Yair Lapid’s flagship policy of allowing many first-time home-buyers to avoid the 18 per cent sales tax.