Coronavirus and the Israeli Mentality of Savings

Gedaliah Freund

As the coronavirus continues to spread with no foreseeable end in sight, Israelis are beginning to learn a difficult lesson: when things get tough, the government will not be there to save you. As thousands of businesses suddenly face collapse, and myriads of self-employed, tax-paying citizens contend with an uncertain future, we should pause for a moment and consider the need to teach our youth about the value of personal savings.

Like all Israeli teens, I too dreamt of the day when I would pack my bag, fly to a foreign land and leave all my troubles behind. Trips of this nature, which are usually extended post-army forays ranging from six months to over a year, are viewed as a “once in a lifetime” experience. Hence, upon discharge from the IDF, the typical pattern that many follow is working in odd jobs for a year or two, planning the outlines of the trip’s first few weeks and then taking off. Traveling can be expensive and without proper foresight, many Israelis will spend all they have accumulated before returning home to a depleted bank account. “I will figure it out when I get home” or “it will be ok, now is my time to enjoy life” are just a few of the rationalizations that are made when booking such voyages. This phenomenon of Israeli youth spending all their money with no regard for the future is both dangerous and short-sighted.

Indeed, the global pandemic exemplifies this, as it threw the world into a downward economic spiral unmatched even by 2008’s tragic economic crash. The financial impact is beyond measure, as members of once-thriving industries are now scrambling for help. As a society, we have grown up with the government as our babysitter, always expecting it to solve our problems. But babysitters are meant to be temporary and limited to dealing with specific issues. Our current mindset is what leads to weekly protests jamming the Ayalon highway, blaming our babysitter for our own problems. Naturally, when we expect to be taken care of, we limit the personal effort we put in.

Israel has always lived on the edge, constantly fighting war after war for our very survival. Consequently, it has left a deep imprint on us, as Chutzpah flows in our blood. We take risks and leaps others are unwilling to take. “Start-Up Nation” is a title we earned for the ways in which we have changed the world and sought to address its problems. Collectively, we are always prepared for the worst. But now is the time to apply this approach on an individual level too.

Let us learn from the invisible enemy how to prepare for economic disasters and let us educate our youth in smart spending and saving. Year-long trips come at a steep price. If just a portion of the cost would be put aside and invested for the future, it would give people an economic cushion for when times get tough. Hopefully, the social effect of this virus will restructure our vision and expectations, not only from our Knesset, but also from ourselves.