"Theft in every sense": The common and controversial phenomenon in high-rises across the country

"Why is there a supermarket cart in the building?" a new neighbor asks the neighbors, and they deny it: if you saw a cart, you didn't see anything. The conversation is part of a video describing the phenomenon of disappearing supermarket carts that are often found in residential buildings. "It's not ours and it's not mine, it's just needed by the neighbors, it's not a cart, it's building infrastructure," they continue with evasions and distortion of facts. She wants to return it, and the neighbors think she's crazy. Everyone knows the cart has its own hiding place, and if not, someone probably got there first. And there are even rules in the building: if you used it, you must return it, don't go too far with it, if someone asks — there is no cart at all, and most importantly, it's not a matter of legal or not, it's a community matter.

The video creator, Omer Bar-Lev Shiloh, who specializes in creative and production using AI, was inspired by the building where he lives in Hod HaSharon. On his Instagram page, he created a series of parody situations, including one about the shared supermarket cart in an Israeli building. "In our building, the cart is an issue. They are constantly asking in the WhatsApp group where it is, where you left it, on which floor, and who is using it." When he moved into the building, the cart was already there, so Bar-Lev Shiloh doesn't know how it got there, but a look at the video provides his perspective. All the neighbors know it got to the building somehow, maybe they took it from a supermarket and forgot to return it, but they don't incriminate anyone. It's clear to them that a cart is needed, but no one says there is a cart. It's ours "on the down-low."

The video received buzz and created strong identification. He was sure it was an Israeli phenomenon, but the responses clarified that it is a global phenomenon. Abroad, there may be buildings that buy a cart in an orderly fashion, but there are others that simply 'borrow' it from the supermarket. It probably depends on the type of building. In a high-rise with an orderly committee, maybe they buy it, but in a Tel Aviv building with three floors and six apartments, maybe they borrowed it from the nearby AM:PM.

An old supermarket cart belonging to a resident of the center, who asked to remain anonymous, is located in the parking lot next to the vehicles, and through it, he transports large purchases or items to the apartment in the building. When asked if he purchased the cart, he replied that it had been with him for years: "I don't remember how I acquired it, but at some point, I installed a lock on it because the neighbors would take it without returning it."

Among those responding to Bar-Lev Shiloh's video were those who confessed that they also have a cart parked that they found on the street, and others who have a cart for every apartment, but also those who said, "With us, somehow a Lidl supermarket cart arrived. We live in Israel. There is no Lidl in Israel. How did they bring it? By plane?" Or "Don't worry, it's also popular in the USA, and especially in Los Angeles." On the other hand, a commenter living in Germany said he is not familiar with such a phenomenon.

Israeli or not? We tried to find out from Jackie, a Beverly Hills resident living in a luxury building, who told mako that supermarket carts are really necessary in their building and in every residential high-rise in Los Angeles. "When we return from shopping and have things to take up to the apartment, we use them ourselves or the building staff in the lobby use them to take up items. The carts are located on the three floors of the parking lot, on each floor there are two carts parked right next to the elevator, next to our cars. When I park the car, I fill the cart with groceries and take it with me to the apartment. After I finish, I take it out or leave it next to the elevator and the building staff comes and takes it back down." Regarding ownership of the carts, she notes that they are owned by the building.

So there are those who buy and those who borrow or find, and in any case, planner and interior designer Hadas Filovsky Ron looks reality in the eye and announces that taking a cart from the supermarket is an ugly phenomenon and "they won't convince me that they bought it."

"As a tenant and member of the house committee in a residential high-rise, I encounter again and again the unacceptable phenomenon of tenants 'adopting' supermarket carts for their private use. Some remain scattered around the building, and some are tied to railings and pillars to use them regularly. Beyond taking property without permission and the financial damage caused to retail chains, it is primarily a safety hazard. Carts placed in public space, in corridors, in stairwells, or near exits can block passages and escape routes, and in an emergency, become an obstacle, delay evacuation, and endanger lives. According to planning and building regulations and fire safety requirements, in a shared building, where stairwells and passages are used for tenant evacuation and the entry of fire and rescue teams, keeping escape routes clear is critical. I hope that in Israel they will adopt the solution implemented in various countries, which is the installation of automatic wheel locking mechanisms, which prevent the carts from leaving the supermarket area."

They wander the street, wander the buildings, sometimes enter houses and apartments, are used for displays and transport, but the natural place for supermarket carts is in the supermarket. "Buying a cart is a practical idea that prevents questions. What's the problem with ordering a cart for the building for a fee, for everyone to share the payment, putting the name of the street and the building on the cart and it's yours without stealing," wrote a commenter on the AI video.

Classic supermarket carts like those in retail chains are bought from equipment suppliers for shops and businesses like gana.co.il. The carts come in different volumes and their price ranges from 260 shekels excluding VAT for a mini-cart like in Duty Free to 410 shekels for 180 liters.

"We have been dealing for years with the phenomenon of the disappearance of the carts, and like all chains, we absorb large losses," says Itzik Cohen, VP of Marketing at the Rami Levy Shivuk HaShikma chain. "People simply take the carts and it is theft in every sense. The price of a cart ranges from 400-600 shekels and sometimes reaches 700-800 shekels, so in a year it is a loss of millions for all retail chains. This is a phenomenon that exists not only in Lag BaOmer when they collect wood for a bonfire. People take 2-3 carts to their building and it is a challenge that we experience and try to deal with."

In a group of residents from Ra'anana, a notice was issued about a year ago on behalf of the Tiv Ta'am chain that every cart found in the possession of the residents of Ra'anana and the surroundings will be confiscated, and a complaint will be filed with the police by the branch management. "You've gone too far. We provide service to all residents of all ages. This time you've really gone too far! The branch staff will go out and take pictures. Every building and house in which a supermarket cart is found that is the property of Tiv Ta'am, according to section 383 of the Penal Code, is suspected of theft."

We also checked on the website of the central house of judgment "Din," and found a question addressed to the rabbi: "Is it allowed when I do shopping to use a cart that is already in use in the building to take my shopping up to my house?". The answer given was that it is possible to be lenient, since a long time has passed since the cart was taken from the supermarket, and the supermarket managers have despaired of finding it.

According to Cohen from Rami Levy, there are not many solutions to the disappearance of the carts, but the chain is working on a technological solution that he is currently forbidden to detail. "The credit card was tried by another chain and did not work. Locking the cart with a magnet can be bypassed, and even when you fence the supermarket with barriers like in IKEA, you can still lift the cart. Whoever wants to, steals. The problem is that they don't return the cart and leave it to wander and so it reaches all kinds of places. In the end, the one who is harmed is the customer who comes after him. It's a matter of respecting the other, it's a way of life."

Do you think this is an Israeli phenomenon? "The Israeli customer is not less disciplined or educated than others. Even abroad, I see carts on the street that are used for moving things or bottles."

What would you suggest to someone who sees a cart on the street? "No one is a Rami Levy attendant. If anything, I appeal to those who use a cart in the supermarket — finished? Just return it. Like you didn't take the tray at the end of the meal at McDonald's."