On video: documentation from interceptor launches towards the last barrage 03.04.24/documentation on social networks according to Article 27 A of the Copyright Law
The future was rosy, pleasant and promising in Israel, until a few years ago.
The standard of living jumped by a sharp rate of close to 9% within five years until 2022 despite the corona crisis in 2020. Last year the standard of living was cut by 2.8%, and today the standard of living is only 2.1% higher than in 2019, which is the last year before the blows were struck: The scourge of the Corona, a virus that claimed the lives of approximately 13,000 Israelis and the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, which was on Simchat Torah on Shiva in October 2023, in which approximately 1,200 Israelis living in the country lost their lives in cruelty.
Until the aforementioned beatings, young people in their third and fourth decades of life no longer understood what their parents, grandfathers and great-grandfathers, who died at a relatively early age, were talking about.
About the suffering, the poverty, minimal and temporary work, pressure jobs, the search for a balm for illnesses and pain due to the situation, refugees from Europe after the end of the Second World War and refugees and cultural shock of immigrants from Islamic countries, all against the background of the announcement in Tel Aviv of the establishment of the State of Israel.
This history of "working bread", a shack to live in, inadequate health services and concepts, is not relevant to the digital contemporaneity, contemporaneity of social networks full of empty content, alienates mediocre thinking abilities.
The seductive pink was based on the fact that the State of Israel brought about a sharp increase in the standard of living without a break, at a tremendous rate.
Israel has overtaken many developed countries in per capita income and standard of living, the Israelis saw this clearly, they could compare with their frequent trips and vacations abroad. The Israeli public clings, rightly so, with great pleasure to the golden calf. of the blood that was spilled among the Jews all over the Land of Israel.
A march between Arad and Masada.
Until the last blows we suffered, young people in the third and fourth decades of their lives no longer understood what difficulties their parents and grandparents were talking about
The future is shrouded in fog
Crises in Israel have become frequent in recent years, uncertainty has increased, the future is shrouded in fog.
Shocks that characterized Israel every few years turned into crises with shorter and shorter waves.
Suddenly, red is not the color of the sun at sunset, but the fear that Jews will have to return and migrate, from the events of Kristallnacht and the Holocaust come up in the conversation every day.
There is a great fear that the legend that Masada will not fall a second time has been shattered, as was promised to the public in his youth when he climbed the winding snake path to Masada's peak.
Naturally, the fear of uncertainty and the future leads to an increase in the savings rate, so also in Israel.
In 2019, back in the time of the good life before the corona virus and the high-tech euphoria that paved paths into the hearts of Israelis, the public saved net, or clean savings in the language of economists, NIS 216 billion, a savings rate of 19%, among the highest in the developed western world.
The corona virus at the beginning of 2020 caused panic and a kind of house arrest, the amount of net annual savings increased to NIS 321 billion, which is 26.8%.
After that there was a lull for two years with the hope that we had returned to the trend line of the good life.
When the black thickets dissipated in the background, the amount of savings returned and decreased in 2021 to NIS 284 billion, which is 22.5% of the public's disposable income.
In 2022, the amount of savings was stable at NIS 282 billion, which is a net savings rate of 20.7%.
At the beginning of 2023, massive, thorough, funded, planned demonstrations began with the best advertisers who know the human soul and its weaknesses, and dragged the Israeli economy into chaos.
The economic and social uncertainty heated up.
While the public is trying to understand what the dispute is between the "Pharisees" and the "Sadducees", dozens of Jews and Israelis were slaughtered at the "Nova" party and soldiers in the Gaza Strip and since then hundreds more soldiers in maneuvers to defeat Hamas and attempts to free the kidnapped.
The scope of the net savings of Israeli citizens rose to NIS 370 billion in 2023, the savings rate increased to 24.7%.
In real prices, the amount of savings in 2023 was 11.5% higher than in 2019, which is the base year before the murky waves of uncertainty began.
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Stores closed during the war.
Imports of consumer goods will decrease in 2023 by 9.3%/documentation on social networks according to Article 27 A of the Copyright Law
The public is at a loss
The public is at a loss for what to do?
Powerless against the background of the struggle between the factions of the population and later against Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Israeli population will grow in 2023 by 2.15%, the highest rate among developed countries, while savings are soaring.
What happened?
Imports of consumer goods decreased in dollar terms in 2023 by 9.3%.
Imports of medicines in 2023 to the people of the Doev were almost unchanged, imports of food decreased by 4.2%, imports of household goods decreased by 15% and imports of clothing and footwear dropped by 18%.
Imports of durable goods decreased by 12%, imports of vehicles decreased by 2.5% and imports of furniture and household electrical products decreased by 19%, severely affecting the importers and the shop owners whose sales they made a living from.
Saving, isn't it?
In January, the import trend of consumer goods continued, a decrease of 1.5% compared to December, mainly household items as well as clothing and footwear products.
There is almost no decrease in the import of medicines, they need a balm, a decrease of only 0.2%, it's clear, isn't it?
Car imports, the pride of every Israeli towards his neighbor, decreased by 3.4% in January after a 4.5% decrease in December 2023, a 5.2% decrease in November, a 5.2% decrease in October and a 5.3% decrease back in September before the war.
and a decrease of 4.7% on average per month in the three months June-August 2023.
The depression of the Israelis began even before the war at the height of the conflict which was close to a civil war.
The damage to the economy was both for the car importers and for the insurance companies and for the state treasury, which came up short.
There is gloom and a decrease in private consumption.
The viability of investments in the divided country will only increase if there is a horizon and currently the government has no money to help with investments.
Imports of capital goods decreased in 2023 by 6.3%, with the exception of ships and planes which recorded a decrease of 1.4%.
The 4.3% decrease in the import of machinery and equipment is especially serious.
The upheaval in the importation of machinery and equipment, which is so essential to the growth of the economy, began already in the second half of 2023 against the background of the division of the residents of the Land of Israel.
Every month from August 2023 until January of this year, imports of machinery and equipment will decrease at an average monthly rate of 1.7%, which does not guarantee a good future for Israel.
The situation of the Israelis involved in tourism and flights abroad has also not improved in the past year. The number of people going abroad began to decrease, according to seasonally adjusted data, already in June of last year, as well as by air, until the crash in October when the Israelis were massacred by Hamas. The split Baam clouded the situation of the Israelis whose desire and desire to go abroad decreased, as in other activities.
The overnight stays of Israelis and tourists in "tourist hotels" were also affected.
Tourist overnight stays began to decrease already in June of last year, Israeli overnight stays began to drop with the outbreak of the war in October.
In January of this year, 96,000 tourist overnight stays were recorded compared to 595,600 in January of last year, tourists are nowhere to be found, their place was taken by Israeli refugees from the ranged border areas even today after the security strips moved into the State of Israel.
Hotels in Tel Aviv.
In January of this year, 96,000 tourist overnight stays were registered compared to 595,600 in the previous January/ShutterStock
The salary actually increases
How do the Israelis compensate themselves for the cloudiness of their mood due to the continuation of the war?
through shopping, not abroad, in Israel. Money in Israel is currently abundant, the government pours in tens of billions of shekels a month to finance the war, part of which naturally flows into the hands of the public, which has reduced its expenses in almost all areas. Not only that, many Israelis receive wages from their workplaces, hundreds The thousands of conscripts are entitled by law to compensation from the National Insurance for reserve days.
The real wage increased in 2023 by 1.9%. The wage continued to rise even after the outbreak of the "Iron Swords" war. The average wage in January of this year was NIS 13,185, an increase of 5.9% compared to January of last year. The unemployment rate is low and has hovered around 3.1%-3.4% in recent months.
If you fly abroad less, wages rise, the government pours in money, the state compensates some of the businesses, the savings rate is huge and the soul wants to compensate itself, what will the Israelis do?
They sharply increase their spending in Israel itself through shopping, and more shopping.
At the beginning of food, essential, then cafes at the neighborhood parliaments just to discuss the situation, then restaurants to relax, then other products and services and finally a jump in buying clothing, footwear, electrical and electronic products.
While in the whole year 2023 there was a 1.4% increase in shopping and purchases using credit cards, now we have moved to shopping addiction including impulsive shopping, including the objectification of all that is missing and especially what we do not need.
In the three months November 2023 to January 2024, the rate of increase in the use of credit cards in terms of the volume of purchases was at an annual rate of 10.5%, of which food and beverages increased at a rate of 8%.
Purchases of software, communication products, medical services and payment for electricity and gas recorded an annual increase of 12.1% and the most related to mental compensation, an annual increase of 40% in purchases of clothes, shoes, electrical products, electronic products, furniture, including shopping in my home department store.
According to the data of the Sheba company, whose main activity is in the nationwide clearing, in the month of February the expenses using credit cards were already 9.4% higher than in February last year, NIS 38.5 billion.
On election day alone, Israelis spent approximately NIS 1.6 billion, of which NIS 133 million was spent in restaurants on election day.
Online purchases in February were 6% higher than last year's February.
The data on shopping and purchases using credit cards does increase the volume of GDP, private consumption is an important component of GDP, about 60%, but we must remember that the other components of GDP are problematic, from investments in the economy to government spending on infrastructure.
Residential construction has stopped in the absence of relevant construction workers.
Imports are decreasing as mentioned due to a decrease in the desire to invest or consume foreign products.
The bright spot, perhaps the only one today, is the increase in exports even in these terrible months of January this year.
Although the export of high technology, which is a branch of high-tech products, is declining, even before the war.
In the other categories, such as traditional mixed technology, there is an increase in exports.
Exports are also soaring these days to Asia, especially to China, to the USA while it is measuring and falling to yesterday's continent, which is currently mostly in recession, which is Europe. We can only hope that the vitality of the Israelis on the front and the rear, which is reflected in professional and smart fighting in the Gaza Strip, on the one hand, and innovation The shopping spree, on the other hand, will spread to the vitality of investments, construction and growth for the benefit of the grandchildren of battered refugees who arrived on the shores of Israel, on the eve of the declaration of independence on the 5th of July 1958 and during the fifties of the last century.
Maybe the red will fade and turn pink, maybe?
More on the same topic:
War of Iron Swords
The legal revolution
demonstrations
Gaza war
optimism
Quality of Life
Savings
Israel
refugees