From Tel Aviv to Berlin: Social media takes notice of Israeli supermarket prices, again
Man uploads photo of grocery bill from Berlin and challenges Israelis to buy exact same list and expose the vast difference in prices.
By JPOST.COM STAFFBerlin grocery list(photo credit: FACEBOOK)
Israelis began to take notice of supermarket prices again in the new year, with a social media post bringing attention back to the subject.More than 3 years ago the "cottage cheese protests" swept through Israel and ended up on Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard, with thousands of Israelis protesting food and housing prices in Israel.Some say the movement had some affect on prices and made the government more aware of the situation. However, Israelis still feel the difference in prices, and that became apparent when a photo posted to a social media site went viral. Berlin grocery list.(photo credit: FACEBOOK)A man who moved to Berlin wrote a Facebook post titled "Olim le Berlin," as if to say he was making aliya to Berlin, when the term aliya is traditionally reserved for moving to Israel, the holy land.He uploaded a picture of his grocery bill from his local supermarket in Berlin, which included many items including meat and dairy.He included a photo of a chocolate pudding, a popular desert in Israel, showing that it only cost less than 1 shekel while in Israel a pudding usually costs around 4 or 5 shekels.His final receipt showed that in total he paid only what was equivalent to 75 shekels for all of the items combined and challenged someone in Israel to buy the same grocery list to show exactly how the prices differ.Only a few hours after the photo went up, the post had 13,000 Facebook 'likes' and was a hot topic on Twitter, as the challenge of the high prices resonated with many of those who 'liked' the photo.Unclear whether this latest wave of attention will bring about new protests or steps from the government to combat the increasing prices, Israelis continue to be active on social media to push their agenda and not give up hope that one day prices will be as low as they are in Berlin.
