The Land of Milk(y) and Honey?: Israelis in Berlin

The Land of Milk(y) and Honey?: Israelis in Berlin

“I pity those who no longer remember the Holocaust and abandon Israel for a pudding.” This statement, made by Yair Shamir, then Israeli Minister of Agriculture, to the Jerusalem Post in October of 2014, marked the climax of the so-called “Milky protest”. In a post that launched a thousand ships, the Facebook page Olim L’Berlin (Aliyah to Berlin) urged Israelis to move to Berlin due to a markedly cheaper cost of living. The primary evidence? Aldi’s Puddingcreme mit Sahnehaube, a dessert comparable to Milky, the dominant pudding brand in Israel, sold for less than a third of the price. This Facebook post received more than one million likes within four days and created headlines around the globe. Nearly 75 years after the end of the Second World War, Berlin’s Israeli community is estimated to number in the tens of thousands and impossible to verify due to issues of multiple citizenship. Is Berlin truly this promised land of milk and honey? Are people from Israel really immigrating here only because of the standard of living, nightlife and Berlin's fabled cultural reputation? What about those Israelis who leave the country due to the current political climate? And what affect does 20th century history as well as multiple reports of rising antisemitism having on emigration from Israel to Germany? Three Israeli performers explore these questions using verbatim text from 60 interviews with the widest possible spectrum of partners; Israelis with an active religious background, Israeli Arabs, highly politicized Israelis as well as Israelis who have absolutely no interest in politics. All text spoken during the performance will come directly from these interviews, presenting the faces of the communities so often presented as a faceless crowd.