As Passover approaches, many Israelis will have trouble buying all the groceries they need for the holidays. That’s according to a new study published early this month by Latet, the Israeli nonprofit fighting poverty and food insecurity.
The findings show that since the beginning of 2025, the monthly expenditure of the Israeli household has increased by about 1,644 shekels ($444) on average, due to the rising costs of electricity, rates tax, sales tax, food, and more. Forty percent of respondents indicated that their own and their family’s financial situations have worsened since last year.
Approximately one third of respondents indicated that they are having difficulty closing the month financially, while 45% indicated that they are making enough to survive but not enough to save.
One half of respondents answered that with the rising cost of living, they have reduced their spending on food, and 40% have reduced their spending on other necessities. That’s a significant increase from last year’s survey, when 36% of Israelis said they had reduced spending on food and 28% said they had reduced spending on other necessities.
Looking forward to Passover, 40% of respondents said they intend to forgo more expensive products while shopping due to financial considerations. One third of those preparing for the holiday report that they do not have the means or have limited means to purchase all the necessary components of the festive meal, and 20% indicated that the economic situation will affect them greatly or very greatly throughout the holiday.
Three quarters of the survey respondents said that the Israeli government is failing to manage national priorities in allocating the budget in a way that reflects distributive justice, or is doing so to a very limited extent.
Approximately two thirds remarked that they would have wanted to donate to those in need for the holiday, but they could not allow themselves due to financial considerations. Latet founder Gilles Darmon commented on the significant rate of volunteering and charitable donations among Israelis, even despite the challenging economic situation.
“The government must act in parallel with civil society and place the fight against the cost of living poverty as a top, national priority,” he said.
Eran Weintrob, executive director of Latet, said that the next few years will be “very challenging financially” because of the rising cost of living, increased taxes and service fees, and frozen welfare benefits.
“Only government policy that realizes a just distribution of the state budget will help build resilience in Israeli society and allow hundreds of thousands of families to realize their basic right to live with dignity,” Weintrob said.
This article was translated from Hebrew by Tzivia Gross.
