Herzog: High Price Of Caviar Proof Of Bibi’s Failure

Despite some of world’s best non-Caspian caviar being produced in Israel at Kibbutz Dan, only the wealthy can afford to purchase any, and even they do so only in tiny quantities at a time.

Tel Aviv, October 1 – Opposition leader Isaac Herzog again leveled criticism at Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s performance today, accusing him of failed economic policies as evident in the high price of sturgeon eggs.

Consumers of caviar, especially the rare Beluga variety, are forced to pay upwards f $7,000 per kilo, a figure Herzog says cannot be sustained, and that the government’s failure to reduce the price demonstrates yet another way in which Netanyahu’s stewardship of the economy has doomed the country to protracted woes. Even less expensive varieties of the sturgeon delicacy can cost upwards of $500 for 300 grams of the product, “authentic” varieties of which must be imported from the Caspian Sea, a situation that the Opposition leader says Netanyahu does not have the will or ability to change.

Herzog called a press conference at Labor Party headquarters to highlight the problem, an event at which ally Tzipi Livni of the Hatnuah Party was also present. The two leaders of the Zionist Union faction accused the Likud-led government of negligence at best and active sabotage of the economy at worst, depriving Israelis of the kinds of sturgeon roe that are served with mother-of-pearl spoons to avoid tainting the product’s unique, delicate flavor.

“The sky-high prices that Israelis must pay to enjoy genuine Caspian Sea caviar, even lower-quality Sevruga caviar, are the latest evidence that Bibi’s policies are leading the country toward disaster,” proclaimed Herzog. “In security, diplomacy, and the economy, this government has been nothing short of a debacle,” he said. He added that despite some of world’s best non-Caspian caviar being produced in Israel at Kibbutz Dan, only the wealthy can afford to purchase any, and even they do so only in tiny quantities at a time.

Livni called on Netanyahu to resign over the issue. “In none of the prime minister’s three consecutive terms has he even tried to address this problem,” she charged. “Evidently, Bibi is more concerned with keeping himself and his cronies in positions of influence where, I don’t know, maybe they laugh at the rest of us and enjoy Beluga caviar that they, at least, can afford.”

Analysts differ on whether the latest Opposition assault on the prime minister will have an appreciable impact. “During the ‘cottage cheese’ protests several years ago, it was clearly pocketbook issues driving the movement, and leaders of that movement include a current Labor MK, so this is obviously a natural issue for Herzog,” said veteran commentator Hanan Crystal. “But despite harping on those same issues, Labor failed to even come close to winning this year’s elections, so I don’t see how more of the same is going to help them.”

Crystal’s colleague Nahum Barnea gave Herzog more credit. “Buji has found an issue that almost everyone can relate to,” he said, using Herzog’s nickname. “The vast, vast majority of Israelis cannot afford to buy even the smallest container of Beluga caviar, and this could really help his relatability in the next elections. He just has to make sure not to overplay his hand, like last week when he pointed to the high price of diamonds as an indicator of failed Likud leadership.”