From Dairy Rage to Social Change: Israel’s Cottage Cheese Revolt

Israelis are pissed off.  they are angry that the price of their beloved staple, cottage cheese has been raised yet once more.  Apparently we pay almost double that which Europeans pay for this dairy delight. 

Now in and of itself, this is nothing new, or that amazing.  Israelis are pissed off about a lot of things and let’s be honest, there is a great deal to be angry about, the driving, the deaths on the road, corruption, politics, the heat, the trains, the gas company, the phone and cable companies, bureaucracy,  the lawyers ( maybe that’s just me, as I am one of the few people in the country without a law degree) and so on and so forth.

No, the amazing thing is that with all these legitimate gripes to get them going, the one thing that finally gets Israelis to act is cottage cheese.  Israel’s social revolution has begun and has done so for the sake of the price of cheese.  The call to action has been heeded as tens of thousands of consumers boycott cottage cheese, with sales reportedly down over 30% and the manufacturers in a panic-stricken PR exercise attempting to justify their extortionate prices. 

If they are to be believed they provide dairy products at a loss and do so for the good to the consumer and the country as a whole.  What nice people they must be?  Their profits apparently produce themselves.

Perhaps we are a mature democracy after all, where usually the only thing that gets people mad is when it affects their pockets directly.  Well we are affected and now we are doing something about it… and its working.  One can only hope that the effect will be contagious.  Perhaps we will stop buying cars in this country which also cost almost double what they are in Europe. 

The problem  with that is we would then have to get the bus, which also costs far too much. But hey there is a price to be paid for everything and you can’t have a successful revolution without a bit of sacrifice.   A decent shampoo, shower, gel, soap, shaving foam, or razor blade, not to mention deodorant; costs more than double that of Europe.   

I want to see our country full of the great unwashed and unshaven  fighting for our rights.  Hey it would also save water big time.  Surely a slight stench is a price worth paying.  In addition we need to boycott drugs and medicine as well as baby products. These essential products can be anything up to ten, even up to fifteen  times more expensive than that of Europe. 

Did anyone say corruption?  Here boycotting could be problematic.  People dying and babies pooping all over the place or starving is possibly not a price we are prepared to pay.  But hey…the cheese has woken us up…the cheese is showing us the way.

Perhaps the Israeli public will get a taste for people power and  will begin to shed their apathy and cynicism.  As the cottage episode shows us.  People power works.  People can make a difference and when you cause a scene the powers that be take note.  And if you make a big enough scene.  the “powers that be” get nervous and actually do something about the problem.

Perhaps we can use this new-found people power to take on more than the dairy industry.  Perhaps we can mobilise and force our so-called leaders to start doing what they are paid to do, paid by us by the way. Lead! Address the issues which matter most to the people, like health, education, social welfare and justice.   Take the decisions and the necessary steps on our behalf in order to  ensure our long-term welfare and security.  Create an environment which will provide our children and grandchildren with a country they can be proud of and will want to live in. 

And while you’re at it, deliver an economy with jobs that provide a working wage, along with a cost of living which allows us all to live in dignity.

Pass the cheese please…