PNN – Hebrew media reported: If you vote for Netanyahu, you will certainly be forced to pay high prices for goods from now on.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network; this statement served as the headline for an economic article on the Hebrew-language news and analysis site Walla. The article addresses the sharp surge in the cost of living in Israel and emphasizes that those who have suffered the most are the very people who voted—and will vote—to bring about this situation.
This article reports that a new study conducted at Tel Aviv University has highlighted the extent of the cabinet’s failure to curb the rising cost of living; the cost of living has surged by approximately 19 percent during the current government’s four-year tenure—with less than a quarter of that increase occurring under the previous administration between October and December 2022.
Israeli cabinets consistently face challenges regarding the cost of living—an issue that has become somewhat of a chronic legacy—yet this failure appears particularly severe under the current government.
Another part of the article acknowledges that problems had become apparent even before October 7th (Operation Al-Aqsa Flood)—the committee tasked with combating the high cost of living met only once, and even then, the Finance Minister refused to engage in discussion—and the war subsequently removed the issue from the agenda entirely.
This unfolded precisely when rising food costs turned into a form of “entertainment” (as restaurants and cultural centers shut down due to the fear of rocket attacks), and we paid a heavy price for it.
Major food producers and importers quickly realized that, in the absence of effective oversight, everyone was doing whatever they pleased, and prices rose.
In Israel (occupied Palestine), there is a clear link between socioeconomic status and voting patterns. While there are exceptions, it can generally be said—largely reflecting reality—that the higher an individual rises on the socioeconomic ladder, the more their vote leans toward the center and the left; in other words, the influence of the bloc of parties known as the “Bloc of Change” increases. Conversely, the lower an individual’s socioeconomic level, the more the position of the coalition parties is strengthened.
Here is another statistic: lower-income groups suffer far more from the rising cost of living than wealthier groups—or, to continue the line of reasoning from the previous section, voters of the coalition parties are far more affected by the rising cost of living than opposition voters.
What are the reasons for this? Is there discrimination based on political affiliation at the entrances of large stores? … Well, the cost of living impacts lower-income groups more heavily in two main ways: the proportion of income spent on food, and the cost in terms of items dropped from the shopping basket.
And finally, the conclusion—reinforced by a Tel Aviv University study that revealed alarming data regarding the outgoing government’s failed battle against the cost of living—is this: when standing at the ballot box, many Israelis ask themselves, “Who are we?” rather than, “What do we want to achieve?”
And this answer comes at a high price: Netanyahu’s voters pay a heavy cost for their support of him. It is unlikely to change their vote, but it is important that they understand it.