Will 2022 Be a Normal Year?

What is completely normal for one person may be entirely unacceptable for another

Winter in Jerusalem. Photo: Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90

How have we already reached the end of 2021? This whole year has somehow passed in a flash.

It was exactly one year ago that I sat thinking about how surely 2021 would be a relatively normal year after the craziness of 2020. Exactly one year ago I was among the first group of Israelis to get vaccinated, and I was optimistic that we would soon be able to say goodbye to Corona. But nothing came of it, Corona continued to accompany us throughout 2021. Yes, “accompanied” is the right word. Even if we were able to lead a relatively normal everyday life, at least as far as our family was concerned, Corona was always there. But it can of course be that things that I now see as “normal” do not seem normal to other people at all.

Enforcement of the “Green Passport” at the entrance of the Rimon Café in Jerusalem. Normal for some, impossible for others. Photo: Olivier Fitoussi / Flash90

Maybe in this current year, which we will be saying goodbye to tomorrow evening, we have simply gotten used to many things that we would have shook our heads about before Corona. I’ve written a number of times about how Corona remains such an unknown, which is why government decisions regarding it often seem erratic, leading to a loss of public trust and a lot of unrest in society.

So I hope that the new year 2022 will be a better one at least in this regard. A year in which we will understand each other better and also learn to accept each other’s opinion instead of arguing.

Here in Israel we were able to deal a little more with our “normal” problems last year. And that’s a small ray of hope, isn’t it? There has never been a lack of normal problems here. The current problems now include the ever-increasing prices in almost all areas of daily life. Two days ago Israeli food conglomerate Osem announced an increase in the prices of its products scheduled to begin on February 1st. The Israeli company, which is owned by Nestlé, is responsible for a large number of products that we put in our shopping carts every day. We’re now hearing the first voices calling for consumers to boycott these products. Osem will certainly not remain the only corporation to raise prices. The reason given for this is the rise in prices worldwide. Everything has become more expensive. The electricity and taxes to the city are also to be increased in the new year. Is there really so much to look forward to 2022?

We will continue to shop in the supermarkets, even if everything becomes more expensive. Photo: Yossi Aloni / Flash90

Still, I hope 2022 will be a better year. We Israelis always remain optimistic. So I hope to be able to welcome many of you, dear readers, to our editorial office again soon and to meet tourists from many countries on our streets again.

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