Over half of Jerusalem children are living in poverty

from Haaretz

By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent

A statistical report of Jerusalem published Thursday shows that over half of the city's children live below the poverty line.

The yearly report, published by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies (JIIS) and the Jerusalem Municipality, indicates that 56 percent of the capital's children and 33 percent of the city's families were living in poverty in 2007.

Data also shows that participation in the work force among Jerusalem residents is among the lowest in Israel. Maya Hoshan and Michal Korach, the report editors, say the low work-force figures are due to extremely high unemployment numbers among Ultra-Orthodox men and Arab women.

The data further shows that Jerusalem's Arab population is poorer than the city's Jewish population, with 62 percent of Arab families living below poverty line compared to 23 percent of the city's Jewish families. Seventy-six percent of Arab children and 44 percent of Jewish children live in poverty in Jerusalem.

The total balance of migrating from Jerusalem continues to be negative. There was, however, a marked rise in the number of new immigrants who settled in the capital, with 13 percent of all 2006 immigrants choosing to make Jerusalem their home.