Saul Sadka Profile picture
Apr 5 11 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Why is Heinz Ketchup Called "Tomato Seasoning" in Israel—and How Trump's Tariffs could end up being great for Israelis.

The victims might be the monopolies, Netanyahu and the public might be the victors. This presents huge opportunities for the savvy. Here’s how: (1/8)Image
When Israel announced a few days ago that it was cancelling all tariffs on American goods, it was essentially bluffing.

There have been virtually no tariffs on American goods for over 30 years. The total amount collected annually was around $40 million — about 0.02% of the Israeli government’s budget. (2/8)Image
One of the major issues with Israel’s otherwise thriving economy is the high cost of goods, especially groceries, which are on average 50% more expensive than in other OECD countries.

So why hasn't anyone taken advantage of the obvious arbitrage opportunity? If there are no tariffs on American goods, wouldn’t enterprising individuals flood the Israeli market with American products, bringing prices down to U.S. levels (plus shipping and local distribution)? (3/8)Image
Because the problem was never tariffs it’s the myriad other trade barriers, implemented by a government heavily lobbied by local conglomerates (who also happen to be the biggest advertisers in Israeli media).

Two examples: (4/8)
Imagine you're a local ketchup producer — say, Osem. Your ketchup doesn’t taste great, and you can’t compete with Heinz, which benefits from global economies of scale. Then Heinz lands in the market. What do you do? Compete on price? Improve your formula?

Of course not. Instead, you use lobbyists and friendly bureaucrats (some of whom wouldn’t mind a future seat on your board) to create a new legal definition of "ketchup" — one that only your product fits. Heinz, suddenly, is no longer allowed to market itself as ketchup. If they want to stay in the game, they have to relabel as “Tomato Seasoning.” And so it was. (5/8)Image
Now imagine you're one of only two small farms in Israel growing pineapples. The climate is poor for growing pineapples, and pineapples are labor-intensive, so your costs are high. But then how come big, juicy pineapples in the UK (with higher labor costs and worse weather) sell for $3, while scrawny, sad pineapples in Israel cost $12?

You guessed it: you’re not in the pineapple business. You’re in the lobbying and bureaucracy business. For 30 years, you’ve fought to make pineapple imports as complicated and expensive as possible — and you've succeeded.

(After much public pressure, the pineapple market was opened up partially, leading to an instant halving in the price of pineapples.)

And these are just two examples out of thousands. In each case, the result is the same: a quiet, steady transfer of wealth from consumers to producers, bureaucrats, and conglomerates. (6/8)Image
Often, it doesn’t even protect local jobs. In many cases, the beneficiaries are merely exclusive importers.

Tariffs were never the issue. The real barriers are the bogus certification requirements and restrictive import licensing, which vested interests use to block foreign competition. Simply allowing American or European certified goods (whose standards are generally higher anyway) to enter Israel freely and without limit would revolutionize the Israeli market — to the enormous benefit of consumers.

The Israeli Standards Institute replicates the work of EU and US standards bodies, but for the tiny Israeli market. This is great for its well paid employees, but bad for Israel. (7/8)Image
The government could eliminate most of this nonsense tomorrow, and over 90% of the public would support it. The only reason it doesn’t happen is because a huge share of Israeli lobbying power — and media ad revenue — is tied to keeping things exactly the way they are.

Netanyahu is, at heart, a free-marketeer. Interestingly, the major conglomerates are mostly aligned with his political opponents. Passing a law that would let Walmart, for example, open 100 stores and sell its full range of products at 30% of what Israelis currently pay would make him wildly popular.

The Trump tariffs might just be the excuse needed to finally make this happen. Vested interests that have blocked this for decades could be told: “Sorry, Trump forced our hand.”

As a bonus, here is a hilariously prescient article from @rntamir in 2021... (8/8)Image
One option to butter up the Ameircan admin might be to cut the duties and luxury tax on American imported cars—perhaps specifically or especially on ELECTRIC CARS 😉—this would please all the right people in all the right places without any major shock to Israeli producers...
Not a bad summary from Grok. Image

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More from @Saul_Sadka

May 22
What did y’all think "globalize the intifada" meant? Vibes? Papers? Essays? 🧵

It meant this sweet young couple, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, gunned down at an American Jewish Committee event at the Jewish Museum by radicalized monster Elias Rodriguez, chanting “Free, free Palestine.” (1/20)Image
We need to know how it came to this—how did Jew-hate become so normalized that the killer can be assured of widespread support from certain quarters? And what future awaits Jews in the West? TL;DR: It's grim. (2/20)
Already, voices blaming Jews and Israel, rather than the killer or the people who radicalized him, are spreading across the internet. Naturally, the people spreading these lies are the ones who incited such actions. (3/20) Image
Read 20 tweets
May 8
It took 23 years, but India has brought justice for Daniel Pearl. His last words, "My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish." Image
Big respect to all the people like @indemtel, @IsraelinIndia, @indianaftali, @Litalsun and all the others who help to bring Indians together.
Read 5 tweets
Apr 15
There's an easy way to know if someone has taken Qatari money: Have they said nice things about Qatar?

Qatar isn't Italy or Norway. It's just a little patch of sand with a few gaudy towers and 2,000,000 semi-slaves to serve its little theocratic tribal dictatorship with a population smaller than Lexington, Kentucky. So if you "like" Qatar, it's because they pay you.

Feel free to share examples of people saying nice things about Qatar in the comments.Image
So, if someone goes to Italy, and comes back gushing about how great the food is, they did not necessarily get paid to do this. However, if they have the same reaction to Qatar, they did. Image
Another example: if someone goes to California and reports that the climate was wonderful, he wasn't necessarily paid to say that. If he does the same in Qatar, he was. Image
Read 6 tweets
Mar 26
We can learn some critical facts from the current clan-based protests in Gaza:🧵

1. The Gazans know they leaders failed.
2. How Israel has infiltrated the Hams command.
3. Why the clans are critical to the present and future.
4. How you can defeat ideas, actually. (1/5)Image
1. The people of Gaza fully understand that their Jihadi leaders have lost the war, and that their suffering continues only because they—and their children—are the final weapons in the arsenal.

This realization is crucial, as it is essential for both sides that the Gazan population—brainwashed into Jihad over decades—can never again be manipulated into believing that self-destructive attacks on their neighbors might somehow bring them joy. (2/5)Image
2. If hundreds are willing to protest publicly—despite the known predilection of their tormentors to execute all dissenters—we can be sure that thousands have betrayed they privately to the IDF. This would explain the sudden uptick in Israel's ability to pinpoint enemy leadership in the Strip. (3/5)Image
Read 7 tweets
Feb 24
Ehud Olmert has revealed publicly for the first time the map of the peace offer that Mahmoud Abbas rejected in 2008 (the picture on the right is Abbas' sketch of it.

Abbas rejected this ridiculously generous offer and now there will never be a Palestinian state in any borders. Image
Image
The best hope for the Arabs of the southern Levant is something modeled on the UAE, but demilitarized. Perhaps the "United Sheikhdoms of Palestine."

Each of the major cities (Gaza, Khan Yunis, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Kalkilya, Nablus, Tulkarem, Jenin, Jericho), along with their hinterland villages, will decide how to run their own lives, and can federate to whatever extend they chose.

But the Israeli public is not going to be ready for anything more than that for a very very long time, and they have a veto.
I like how the comments are split between those accusing Olmert of being a foreign agent and those accusing Abbas of being a Mossad agent.
Read 4 tweets
Feb 23
These are the 24 hostages still held in Gaza who will not be among the four released on Thursday. The remains of 34 others, who have been declared dead by the IDF, are also being held.🧵

From top left:

1. Eitan Horn
2. Segev Kalfon
3. Bipin Joshi
4. Guy Gilboa-Dalal
5. Avinatan Or
6.  Yosef Haim Ohana
7.  Nimrod Cohen
8.  Rom Braslavski
9. Evyatar David
10. David Cunio
11. Tamir Nimrodi
12.  Bar Kupershtein
13.  Gali Berman
14.  Eitan Mor
15.  Edan Alexander
16.  Pinta Nattapong
17. Omri Miran
18. Elkana Buchbut
19. Alon Ohel
20. Matan Zangauker
21.  Ziv Berman
22.  Ariel Cunio
23.  Maxim Herkin
24.  Matan AngrestImage
1. Eitan Horn (37) was captured alongside his brother Iair, there are serious concerns for his heath. Image
2. Segev Kalfon (26) was kidnaped from the Nova festival. His family recently received a 'sign of life'. Image
Read 26 tweets

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