(JTA) — Devora Zien’s small apartment in Bnei Brak works like a factory, but, he admits, it’s not very fluid. With 12 mouths to feed 3 times a day, single-use plastic utensils are a basic necessity, he says. So when then-Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman raised taxes on disposable goods in 2021, Zien said he was “in shock. “
“For me, it’s more vital than bread and milk,” he said. “It’s a matter of survival. I can’t sit in front of the kitchen sink all day washing dishes, and where would I put a dishwasher even if I could just this?”
Many ultra-Orthodox Israelis noted that Liberman’s tax on disposable tableware, along with some other set of taxes he imposed as finance minister on sugary drinks, unfairly targeted his way of life and cynically at environmental and health considerations to unmarry his children. community. .
This week, after Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was sworn in, Liberman’s successor, Bezalel Smotrich, in his first move as finance minister, signed executive orders repealing tax increases on disposables and sugary drinks.
Ultra-Orthodox lawmakers welcomed the move, as did many members of the haredi population at large. Images circulated on social media of haredi men celebrating the resolution by drinking Cristal Mint, a low-cost, high-sugar soda, in disposable plastic cups. Beyond the relief felt by network members, there is also a sense that the balance in Israel’s culture war once tipped in their favor.
MK Uri Maklev of the Haredi United Torah Judaism party said the cancellation of the tax underscores the new government’s policy of “working for the citizens, as opposed to them. “
Israel is the world’s first or largest moment consistent with the disposable tableware customer, according to the analysis, making it a natural target for environmental activists. It’s no small feat. That’s almost double, for example, what the city of Jerusalem spends a year on sanitation.
But disposable goods were Liberman’s only target for environmental taxes, which emerged when he tried to address Israel’s main living burden by reducing taxes on other goods. And an environmental activist, Liberman is well known for his fierce complaint of Israel’s haredi sector. , which he says contributes very little to the country through paintings and military service.
“The only thing that bothers him is to put his finger in our eye,” said Devora’s sister-in-law, Yael Zien, a media personality who advocates on behalf of Israel’s haredi population. He sent Haredi Jews in “wheelbarrows directly to the garbage dump. “
“You can’t compare their average secular circle of relatives to two cars ordering takeout to the haredim. We also host many more family receptions than any other industry,” Zien said. “Why not raise taxes on a momentary car?Or flights abroad? »
“Haredim are truly greener than anyone else. We buy less clothes, we don’t buy it overseas, and our communities rely heavily on gemachim and transmission,” he said, referring to loose lending establishments that supply everything from bottles to nightgowns.
Although the tax struck a chord and was noted on both sides as another circular in the culture war between secular and Orthodox Israelis, when the dust settled, it turned out that the two sides can agree on some vital issues.
Although he said he reacted “ecstasy” to Smotrich’s measures, Zien is not completely opposed to reinstating taxes, but this time with the cooperation of the parties involved and a multi-pronged approach. As for sugary drinks, Zien said the government has taken parallel steps to teach Haredi society about the danger of diabetes and not just impose acts that can be interpreted as punitive.
Meanwhile, environmental activists, who had marveled at the taxes on plastic plates, are willing to admit that Liberman would possibly have paid very little attention to the wishes of haredi communities.
Yael Gini, the network’s director on Israel’s Sustainable Development Goals, said tax increases are just a way to fight waste, and necessarily optimal. A decisive moment may have been a more prudent first step, he said.
“It’s a shame to get to this point. It is not sectoral, but it turns out to be. [Politicians] have made it political and the haredim are right about it,” said Gini, a former Greenpeace program director.
“But [the haredim] want to understand, this is not an opposite scenario to us,” he said, adding that the environmental impact on Israel’s use of disposable products is “a crisis for everyone. “
Despite the political uproar created by the resolution to tax single-use tableware, anecdotal evidence shows it may have been effective, especially for haredi Orthodox families living on a tight budget. Data published in April 2022 by the Ministry of Environment indicated that the purchase of single-use plastics in supermarkets had been reduced by almost 50% since the taxes were imposed six months earlier. Critics of the survey noted, however, that the haredi community’s tendency to shop at convenience retail stores and make primary purchases was not taken into account. Acquire before the Jewish holidays.
For Leah, a Hasidic Orthodox mother of seven who lives in Jerusalem’s cloistered Bukharian neighborhood, Liberman worked.
“Regardless, we controlled doing a table service that had been introduced to us years before,” he said, referring to the Jewish practice of dipping dishes and utensils into a ritual bath to make sure they can be used with kosher food.
Leah also went to IKEA to buy other multi-purpose parts, such as pots, and admits she wouldn’t have made them if plastic utensils had remained affordable. “Life is hectic and that was one less thing to worry about,” he said.
The adjustment took time and there were bumps in the road.
“A lot of plates broke, the kids were fighting all the time over the glasses, but they gave them to us through them. I bought their own children’s game and encouraged them to wash it,” she said.
Leah, who asked that her last call not be released, has very little exposure to the news and is unaware of Smotrich’s flashback. While the move meant it would likely be less economical when it came to buying plastic in the future, it’s unlikely to completely return to the past situation, he said.
“It’s great to eat Shabbat foods in genuine dishes,” Leah said. “It’s more special. “
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