Rami Levy escorted out of committee hearing
Rami Levy escorted out of committee hearingצילום: נועם מושקוביץ, דוברות הכנסת

The owner of one of the largest supermarket chains in Israel was ejected from a Knesset committee hearing Wednesday, during a heated debate with lawmakers over claims of price fixing.

The Knesset’s Economy Committee convened Wednesday morning to discuss rises in the cost of living, dealing among other things with allegations of price fixing among some major food retailers.

Retail prices have risen significantly in recent months, amid the largest rise in inflation in roughly a decade.

Following the massive economic contraction during the coronavirus lockdowns and subsequent stimulus programs, Israel’s inflation rate soared to 2.5% in September, the highest rate in a decade.

After years of low inflation and relatively stable prices for basic consumer goods, shoppers have faced major increases over the last few months, including at grocery stores.

Some lawmakers suggested that the price hikes were due to collusion among major retail chains – a claim store officials vociferously rejected during Wednesday’s committee hearing.

Rami Levy, owner and CEO of the Rami Levy supermarket chain, scoffed at accusations of price fixing, arguing that his company had taken major steps to soften the increase in prices. The Rami Levy chain, he said as an example, had massively expanded imports of tomatoes last year, a move which he claimed has kept the price per kilogram at four shekels. Without the change, he added, the price would have risen to 25 shekels per kilo.

MKs Ofir Soffer (Religious Zionist Party) and Ran Shefa (Labor) expressed skepticism over Levy’s claims and asked him about his company’s profit margin.

An argument broke out between Levy and Soffer, leading Levy to shout: “I don’t know who you are. You’re a populist. Don’t try to tell me anything. You never made a single business.”

At that point, committee chairman Michael Biton (Blue and White) ordered Knesset ushers to remove Levy from the hearing.

MK Shefa later criticized Levy in a tweet, writing: “Rami Levy was here in the Economy Committee yelling at myself and at MK Ofir Soffer after we told him that the large markup in fruit and vegetable prices comes from him, not the farmers. Then he, audaciously, claimed that he has no markups and that he is the one who fought against the increase in the cost of living, then went on to call us populists. There’s no end to the embarrassment.”

רמי לוי הורחק מהדיון עם רשתות המזון בכנסתערוץ כנסת