Third of J'lem families live in poverty

from Haaretz

By Nadav Shragai

Jerusalem has the highest incidence of poverty in Israel as 33 percent of the capital's families and 56 percent of its children live below the poverty line.

The new Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem published yesterday by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies indicates that the city's Arab population is even poorer, with 62 percent of Jerusalem Arab families living in poverty compared to 23 percent of Jewish families.

Among children, 76 percent of Arab children live below the poverty line while 44 percent of Jewish children are impoverished.

The yearbook also reveals the low percentage of participation in the workforce in Jerusalem. Just 45 percent of the capital's population are in work, compared to a 56 percent rate nationwide, 64 percent in Tel Aviv and 56 percent in Haifa.

Institute researcher Maya Choshen explains that workforce participation is particularly low among Jewish men and Arab women in the capital.

Most Jerusalem employees are in the civil service - 48 percent compared to 26 percent in Tel Aviv and 32 percent nationwide. In contrast, just 16 percent of Jerusalem workers are in the financial, banking and insurance sector. In contrast, 33 percent of Tel Aviv employees are in those sectors. Only 7 percent of Jerusalem workers are in industry compared to 16 percent nationwide.

As a result, the average monthly income of households headed by salaried employees in Jerusalem is just NIS 11,419, compared to NIS 15,918 in Tel Aviv and NIS 14,419 nationwide. The average number of members of a household is higher in Jerusalem too at 4.2, compared to 2.6 in Tel Aviv and 3 in Haifa.

Two-thirds of population Jewish

At the close of 2006, the Jerusalem population was about 733,000 - about 481,000 among the Jewish population and 252,000 among the Arab population. The Jewish population therefore constitutes 66 percent of the city, down from 74 percent in 1967. In parallel the Arab population of the city has increased from 26 percent in 1967 to 34 percent now.

At the close of 2005, 424,000 Jerusalemites lived in areas annexed to the city in its unification in 1967, 59 percent of the population. Forty-four percent of these are Jewish.

The capital's Arab population is increasing at a rate three times higher than the Jewish population. The natural rate of increase (the difference between deaths and births) is 268 percent among the Arab population in the past 40 years, compared to 143 percent among Jews.

Jerusalem's migration balance continues to be negative with 6,300 more people leaving the city than moving into it in 2005. There has been an increase in the rate of immigrants choosing to settle in the capital at 13 percent of 2006 immigrants.

In the past five years, the number of school children in the city school system has increased by 16 percent. National religious schools saw an uptick of 6 percent, while Haredi schools saw increased enrollment of 13 percent and the Arab student body expanded 19 percent.