Americans are trying to smuggle hundreds of kilograms of fruit rolls to Israel: why are they doing it

Two American couples have been caught by Israeli customs while trying to smuggle a total of more than 300kg of fruit rolls into Israel as the country faces a severe snack shortage due to the TikTok craze. JTA.

Photo: IStock

A customs officer at Ben Gurion International Airport went through at least three open suitcases, each filled with hundreds of colorful sweet treats. The owner of the suitcases explained that he brought snacks across the ocean for his family in Israel. When the customs officer asked if the man had packed the clothes for himself, he replied that he had clothes in Israel.

The customs officer asked why the man had filled two suitcases with fruit rolls. “It has something to do with ice cream,” the passenger replied.

The man was almost certainly referring to the TikTok viral trend, which has been going on since at least March, in which users of the social video network wrap a sweet sticky roll around a small scoop of ice cream, which then freezes and becomes hard and crunchy.

“We’re caught up in this trend too,” an Israeli says in one TikTok video in late March as he places a box of fruit roll-ups on the counter. “My whole TikTok is filled with fruit roll-ups and ice cream.”

On the subject: Teenager burns 80% of his body due to dangerous new TikTok challenge

Israelis regularly ask travelers from the US to bring goods that either cost more in Israel (like electronic devices) or are hard to find on Israeli shelves (like Entenmann's donuts).

Across the country, supermarkets, convenience stores and online stores have reportedly sold out fruit rolls, pushing up the cost of these snacks. Enterprising vendors sell individually wrapped fruit rolls for more than $5 or $6 each, according to Israeli press reports. By comparison, a box of 10 fruit rolls typically costs less than $3 in the US.

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An article in an Israeli daily newspaper jokingly compared these rising costs to the cost of a mortgage in Israel's notoriously expensive housing market.

“We bought them for the price of a diamond,” one parent said, according to the article. “I said I would find out how many rolls I could get in exchange for my kidney.”

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