Israeli expats and the Germany question

Israeli expats boasting on social media, about the great lifestyle in Berlin and encouraging others to join them, have enraged those at home, says Aron Heller

YOUNG Israeli expats have caused controversy back home by encouraging others to join them in Berlin, touching on two sensitive issues in Israel: the country’s high cost of living and Jews’ tortured history with Germany.

While Israelis have been angered that food prices are lower in Germany, they are also outraged that the youngsters’ form of protest has been to give up on the Zionist dream by leaving the Jewish state, and relocating to the birthplace of the Nazi Party. It rankles in a society that once considered emigration treasonous, and when many Israelis want solidarity after a brutal summer in Gaza underscored political woes in Israel.