Ikea draws crowds, raising ire of still-shuttered stores, politicians

Anger is rising faster than a Billy bookshelf over the opening of Ikea furniture stores, which some are pointing to as a symbol of Israel’s seemingly inconsistent regulations regarding what businesses may operate under current coronavirus emergency regulations.

Israelis flocked to the store’s three branches on Wednesday, leading to reports of long lines of people needing their flatpack fix.

Small business owners have been pushing for the government to allow them to re-open, citing weeks of lost income.

Tali Friedman, the head of the Mahane Yehuda Jerusalem open air market seller’s association, tells Ynet that stores will re-open on Sunday whether they are allowed to or not.

“It’s ridiculous that places that are not essential like Ikea are opening and have long lines out the doors, and just the market sellers are left to suffer,” she says.

רק זו לא התקהלות?!
אם איקאה יכולה להיפתח כל עסק קטן בארץ יכול גם!
בושה וחרפה pic.twitter.com/Z2I1E8Tl2b

— the troll denier (@Trollsdenier) April 22, 2020

Ministers also pointed to Ikea’s opening as a sign of hypocrisy during a government discussion on opening more stores earlier in the day.

Speaking to Channel 12 news, Health Ministry director Moshe Bar Siman-Tov says that “we are aware that we needed to do some decisions more logically, but we will fix it.”

He says the government will decide on the next rollback measures on Thursday.