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News September 2007 - Increase in Poverty in Israel
On September 4th 2007 the Israel National Insurance Institute (“NII”) released the annual poverty report of Israel for year 2006. It shows an increase in the number of people who lives under the poverty line in Israel.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the most alarming trend is the growth on the number of children living below the poverty line, which is now 35.8%, meaning more then third of the children in Israel lives in poverty! It also added that the NII's Ben-Shalom said that if the current trend continued, eventually every second child [in Israel] would be living in poverty!!!
Close to 1.65 million people in Israel lived below the poverty line in 2006 - a slight rise from the previous year, when the figure stood at 1.63 million - according to the National Insurance Institute's (NII) annual poverty report, released Tuesday.
"What was most alarming about this year's report was the continued growth in the number of children living below the poverty line. In 2004, that figure stood at 713,600, or 33.2%, and climbed to 796,100 (35.8%) two years later.
In short, one in every three Israeli children is poor. The NII's Ben-Shalom said that if the current trend continued, eventually every second child would be living in poverty.
"We are not talking about numbers here," countered Eran Weintraub, director of humanitarian aid organization Latet, which aims to distribute a million food packages to the country's needy ahead of the High Holy Days next week. "Behind the numbers are real people who live in extreme conditions. We are happy that the state has taken notice of the number of poor and hungry people, but we call on [Prime Minister Ehud Olmert] and the ministers of welfare and social services and finance to set up a committee to immediately battle this problem."
The report also noted a rise in the number of working poor, or families whose household head is actually employed but who still live below the poverty line. In 2005, that figure was 177,100 families, while in the following year, it rose to 185,500 families.
The growth in financial distress among large families (four or more children) was also noted in the report. According to the figures, 87,300 large families lived below the poverty line in 2005, and that number rose to 96,700 in 2006.
While the report noted overall economic growth in the country during 2006, Herzog pointed out that this improvement did not manage to filter down to the economically weaker segments of the population.
"There is a clear gap between the top tier and the lower levels," he told the Post. "We need a program of negative income to combat this problem."
The Jerusalem Post reported that the most alarming trend is the growth on the number of children living below the poverty line, which is now 35.8%, meaning more then third of the children in Israel lives in poverty! It also added that the NII's Ben-Shalom said that if the current trend continued, eventually every second child [in Israel] would be living in poverty!!!
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Here are some highlights from the Jerusalem Post Article:Close to 1.65 million people in Israel lived below the poverty line in 2006 - a slight rise from the previous year, when the figure stood at 1.63 million - according to the National Insurance Institute's (NII) annual poverty report, released Tuesday.
"What was most alarming about this year's report was the continued growth in the number of children living below the poverty line. In 2004, that figure stood at 713,600, or 33.2%, and climbed to 796,100 (35.8%) two years later.
In short, one in every three Israeli children is poor. The NII's Ben-Shalom said that if the current trend continued, eventually every second child would be living in poverty.
"We are not talking about numbers here," countered Eran Weintraub, director of humanitarian aid organization Latet, which aims to distribute a million food packages to the country's needy ahead of the High Holy Days next week. "Behind the numbers are real people who live in extreme conditions. We are happy that the state has taken notice of the number of poor and hungry people, but we call on [Prime Minister Ehud Olmert] and the ministers of welfare and social services and finance to set up a committee to immediately battle this problem."
The report also noted a rise in the number of working poor, or families whose household head is actually employed but who still live below the poverty line. In 2005, that figure was 177,100 families, while in the following year, it rose to 185,500 families.
The growth in financial distress among large families (four or more children) was also noted in the report. According to the figures, 87,300 large families lived below the poverty line in 2005, and that number rose to 96,700 in 2006.
While the report noted overall economic growth in the country during 2006, Herzog pointed out that this improvement did not manage to filter down to the economically weaker segments of the population.
"There is a clear gap between the top tier and the lower levels," he told the Post. "We need a program of negative income to combat this problem."
