pissing in their whine. Grow the hell up..You have no idea what is going on in the world. I am talking about the once great America you all want to emulate. I just returned from the USA and I was shocked by the steep rise of food, transport, health care etc. The average American is piss poor and two paychecks away from being homeless. To all you ingrate schnorrers who are always whining and bellyacking. Get over yourselves and grow the hell up. You have no idea how good Israel looks in comaprison to rest of the free world. I can bet you the farm that most of the yordim who have left for America over the past 10 years would return to Isreal in a heartbeat if only they could source housing IN ISRAEL. Thats how bad the situation is in America today. Be thankful and enjoy the holidays instead of whining bellyacking and making total asses of yourselves.

There is no doubt that rents are too high & so is fuel. The same problems affect Paris, London & Berlin. Prices rise because the economy is growing. Rent control is needed in big cities & there needs to be more building. But in other areas I wouldn't say prices are "skyrocketing".

I believe that while Israel is paradise compared to many other nations, that should not stop the people from rising above and trying to improve. Just because gas, electricity, and housing costs are not yet higher than America (well, actually petrolium is!), it's NOT something to sit and watch rise. Dayenu!

You are just not clear on the concept. The protest is because those who love and LIVE in Israel can't find housing while earning Israeli salaries. When you live in a country that has pathetically low incomes but charges Manhattan prices and beyond the average person has to live at home until the parents die. That is just not acceptable

and security, nineteen (extended) families pretty much control the Israeli economy, profitting off the average Israeli and thereby causing the high prices we all have to face. There need to be some wholesale changes in the Israeli economy without a capital outflow.

I probably would not say it that stringly but I could not agree with you more! I too live in both Israel and the US--protest what in Israel? America 1:5 do not know where they will eat tomorrow, 1.5% in prison--for real and violent crimes, there is no such thing as a safe street, the entire country is crawling with illegal immigrants who are far worse than the politically controlled press exposes, my wife and I are both multiple degreed professionals and we work extra to afford an education for our two childdren 9 & 14. Things are hard everywhere, but Israel and Jews demanding free from the governemnt, what do you think they will do call up shemayim and have some sheqels sent, maybe with a note of apology from ha Shem? These Jews shame us before the world, we are not from Mexico or Haiti, we work, we invent, we build, ok we kvetch, but we do not embarrass our people. Walk freely and safely in the clean air back to your apartments. Maybe stop and have an Artiq, enjoy your land, the Americans wish they were even a drop so lucky.

My 18 years as a care giver for a dying woman are now over, I am working to cope with the grieving and my therapist said I should soon be focusing on something for myself and I will. Aliyah. And If I suffer from the high cost of living in Israel on US Social Security it will not be because I chose to live in the most expensive place in Israel, it will be because I chose to live among the settlers I love and I will deal with whatever I can afford and love Israel. I am in the process of training her son to take over my business and B"H I too will have an Israeli identity card.

If you want state subsidies and state assistance and a welfare state, you have to agree to increased taxes. You can't both have low taxes but enjoy state benefits for the simple reason that the funding of state benefits come from ordinary citizens that pay taxes. Life in Israel may not be perfect - far from it, there are many things in Israel that must be improved, but violating the government's responsible financial policies of keeping unemployment low, inflation low, stringent bank policies. a responsible Central Bank headed by Stanley Fischer and decreasing budget deficit and decreasing national debts - violating these things by demanding a socialist welfare state, will destroy what you already have and make your situation even worse. Do I need to say the words Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland? Do you want to become like the PIIGS countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain)?

Israelis are being rip-off by very wealthy and selfish Jews who don't live in the country. Do you think that's good? You need to see a doctor right away.

AL: while I dont doubt that you are writing what you observed, i see things here differently: the economy is improving, and I do not know a single person personally, who is in danger of losing therir home. Of course, hundreds of thousands did, but many of them were in localized areas (FL, NV, CA) and many of them had no reason in the world to have mortgages so large in comparison to their earnings. The malls and restaurants here in the US are full, and the upswing has started. Of course, fuel prices are skyrocketing, but the roads are chock full of SUV's. as for the protestors: they have a legit gripe: many or most are IDF veterans, and they cannot afford decent housing, even rentals. At least here in the States, rentals abound, and the Fed Govt has an affordable housing program admin by the States in each and every state. We need a lot more, but at least something is being done. Not sure about the housing situation in Israel. I need to study it more (I work in rental housing here in the US)

Im not going to shere with you my income. Forget it.

Stop using inflation to destabilise Israel!

Very well said. These stupid demonstrators want a free ride. Israel has weathered the economic storm that lashed the world better than most Western countries. People like Rich (#10) who is probably rich and lives in Canada don't have a clue what's going on in Israel.

Israel is ridiculously expensive, especially in comparison to any other Western country in the world. It starts with the supermarkets (basic food and even just water) and goes on to fuel (much more expensive than in most of Europe) and even affects basic education (pre-school, kindergarden). The rents are insanely high, just because Netanyahu hardly cares about creating state-supported housing and the private owners just do whatever they want. Israel consists only of a few monopoles (f.e. just look at the supermarkets, transportation) and they do with the customers whatever they want while the government doesn't give a shit.

It is not hard to understand. The steep rise in housing prices coincides with Netanyahu's decision to prohibit Jewish building in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. Less places to live brings greater demand brings higher prices.

The Jews were unhappy in Egypt as slaves and they prayed for their freedom. One day God sends Moses to take them out of slavery, but instead of being grateful they were now free and on their way to the promised land but the only thing they wanted to do was whine to Moses and tell him we were better off in Egypt. I sometimes wonder if its in Jewish to whine about everything and keep thinking the grass is always going to be greener on the other side of the fence. I live in Israel but I am currently in the UK visiting family for Pessach and when I went to the supermarket I was amazed how high food was now. The trains & busses much more than Israel. VAT is much more than Israel, fuel taxes are very high and when you slap on VAT its even higher. I also have a very good friend who lives in Missouri and she tells me about all the problems Americans are going through right now. Israelis though think they have a monopoly on problems and expect others to solve their problems on demand.