Yaron Zelekha Claims Coca-Cola Can Costs 11 Shekels, Faces Backlash

Professor Yaron Zelekha sparked a social media firestorm after claiming on Channel 14's "HaPatriotim" program that a can of Coca-Cola costs 11 shekels in Israel. Zelekha alleged this inflated price was due to 'capital-rule' (Hut Shulton), suggesting the owner of Coca-Cola also owns Channel 12, thus influencing pricing. This assertion was sharply refuted by former Knesset member Abir Kara, who presented evidence of significantly lower prices at major supermarket chains, citing 3.96 shekels at Yohananof and 3.33 shekels at Rami Levy. Kara criticized Zelekha's understanding of living costs, stating, "Whoever wants to deal with the cost of living must first know how much things cost. I wouldn't let someone who doesn't know the price of Coke deal with something they don't understand."

Kara further accused Zelekha of hypocrisy, recalling his past opposition to dairy reforms and his representation of tycoons in the cellular and cement industries. He suggested Zelekha's consistent use of 'capital-rule' and 'monopolies' as explanations was a popular tactic rather than a genuine analysis. Kara concluded by implying Zelekha's public statements were aimed at securing a political position rather than addressing economic issues, stating, "Apparently the goal is not to lower prices but to get a job arrangement in the Knesset. We have enough of this nonsense."

This incident follows another controversy involving Zelekha, who recently attacked Israel's banking system, claiming banks earned 33 billion shekels last year when they should have earned half that amount. He argued that taxing banks would not solve the problem due to a lack of competition, stating, "I want to break the power of the banks."