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21 Iyar 5764 - May 12, 2004 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Almost 20 Percent of all Israelis now Live in Poverty
by Yated Ne'eman Staff

After four years in which the level of poverty remained steady, the number of poor people rose to 1.32 million, or 18.1 percent of the population. The number of poor families in Israel last year grew by more than five percent to 18.5 percent of all the families in the country. The total number of poor families is now 340,000.

The National Insurance Institute (NII -- Bituach Leumi) published the figures on Monday as part of a survey of the effects of the five economic programs approved by the Knesset in the years 2002 and 2003. The figures are still estimates, as exact figures for 2003 will be available only in six months.

NII figures indicated 1,212,000 (20 percent) poor people in 2002. In 2001, 17.7 percent of the population was poor, about the same as in the previous four years.

The poverty line is defined as half of the median income. The median income is the level at which half earn more and half earn less. For a single person it is currently NIS 1,743 ($383 a month). For a couple it is NIS 2,789 ($613).

The poorest large city is Jerusalem with 22.2 percent of its families and 38.8 percent of its children living below the poverty line. In Bnei Brak, 31 percent of its families lived in poverty and 50.6 percent of its children. The chareidi population would certainly like to have more money, but no one thinks that its poverty will cause riots or social unrest.

The sudden growth in the number of poor families is attributed to various factors, especially the NIS 5.5 billion cut in NII budgets in the past two years which brought their real value down by an average of 7.2 percent.

According to the figures in the survey, old age payments lost 10 percent of their buying power in the past two years and the guaranteed income allowance went down by some 20 percent. The single family allowance dropped by 28 percent and child allowances for families with two children dropped by 20 percent, on average.

The stiffening of criteria for unemployment benefits led to a sharp decrease so that the number of unemployed receiving assistance stood at 23 percent in 2003 compared to 39 percent in 2001.

Dr. Yigal Ben-Shalom, head of the NII, noted that contrary to social policy in the previous 30 years -- when the allowances were linked to the average wage so that recipients could enjoy the same improvements as the rest of the population -- starting in 2006 they are due to be linked only to price rises. He said that this will lead to even greater poverty since the rest of the population will enjoy larger incomes, while those getting allowances will remain in the same place.

Ben-Shalom also believes the current signs of improvement in the economy will not be felt in coming years in the lowest income groups. The survey reveals that most of the burden of the economic recovery in the past two years was borne by the low income groups.

While the standard of living of the general population dropped by 4.6 percent, on average, that of the lowest decile dropped 12 percent and the second lowest decile by 7 percent. As a result, poor families got even poorer. Their average income was 30 percent or more below the poverty line in 2003.

Around a third of those over 65 live in poverty: about 210,000 out of 640,000.

The NII said that of 29 developed countries, Israel ranks 19th in the level of its public support per person in relation to its GDP per capita. It pointed out that even if the economy improves this year and next, those receiving handouts will not benefit since the payment levels are frozen until 2006.

 

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