“Who wants schnitzels? “, exclaims a tall man, black jersey and blue mask, a box full of breaded chicken cutlets propped up against his hip. Beside him, the demonstrators wait their turn, glancing at the Tupperware laid out in front of them. The greatest restaurants in the country have each concocted a menu; a young woman hands out chocolate fondants usually served at one of Tel Aviv’s most prominent tables.
“Today we came to do what we know how to do best: simmer good dishes and welcome people”, explains David Frenkel, in white kitchen clothes and drawn features. Like him, many restaurateurs demonstrated, Tuesday evening, July 21, under the windows of the residence of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, distributing meals to the crowd who came to support them, in the center of Jerusalem.
The profession is exasperated by the contradictory announcements of the government: on July 16, the authorities demanded the express closure of restaurants, the next day, before pushing back the date by four days… to finally go back.
“Closing and opening a restaurant is very expensive, it requires a lot of logistics, you have to quickly liquidate stocks, organize employee unemployment …”, complains the 36-year-old entrepreneur, who claims to have lost some 100,000 shekels – just over 25,000 euros – last weekend due to government hesitation. David Frenkel has been working since he was 14, but as a self-employed person he is not entitled to unemployment insurance and survives by drawing on his savings. “I’m exhausted, I can’t stop thinking, all this uncertainty… It’s the first time in my life that I feel so helpless”, he sighs.
Resourceful and end of the month ric-rac
For ten days, whistles and vuvuzelas have rocked the evenings of the Prime Minister in front of his residence in Jerusalem. Thousands of Israelis are protesting across the country; in the processions, many freelancers, entertainment, tourism or catering professionals who have lived for months without pay.
The unemployment rate has risen from 4% of the working population before the pandemic to more than 20%. Faced with the spectacular rise in coronavirus cases – nearly 2,000 infections a day – the government is procrastinating, leaving the Israelis with the unpleasant impression of being on their own.
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