Shas: We won't stay in a gov't that scrimps on Israel's children

from Ha'aretz

By Ruth Sinai and Yair Ettinger, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: Israel, poverty report

Deputy Prime Minister and Shas Chairman Eli Yishai on Thursday threatened to leave the government after report showed that disturbing numbers of children live below the poverty line.

"We (Shas) will not remain in a government that scrimps on the children of Israel. Even National Insurance Institute experts say the only solution is to reinstate pension payments," said Yishai.

Nearly 45 thousand Israelis slipped below the poverty line in 2007, including 30 thousand children, according to the NII's biannual poverty report that was released Thursday.

The report, which focuses on the first six months of 2007 shows that the poverty rate in Israel continued to rise from 24.4 percent in 2006 to 24.7 in 2007.

According to the report, 1,674,800 Israelis are now below the poverty line which stands at a monthly income of NIS 2,028 per person and NIS 5,191 for a family of four.

804 thousand children live in poverty in Israel. In 2006, 35.2 percent of children in Israel lived in party. In 2007, the percentage rose to 35.8 percent. The number of families living in party also rose in 2007, from 20 percent to 20.5 percent, reaching a total of 420 thousand families.

On Sunday, the government will receive a report which recommends additional ways to measure poverty in Israel, in manners that are not necessarily income-based.

The rise in poverty during a period of strong economic growth points to the significant rise in inequality in Israel. Despite the fact that, on average, wages have risen in the past year the report shows a growing number of 'working poor' families as most wage workers no longer earn a high enough salary to cover the costs of living.

Of the 'working poor' families in which there is one earner, the poverty rate rose from 22.6 percent to 24 percent. Among families in which there are two earners, the poverty rate rose from 3.1 percent to 3.5 percent.

The jump in the number of people living in poverty is also due to the fact that stipends and government benefits only rose by half a percent while the cost of living rose much more.

According to the report, poverty has risen among both Jews and Arabs. The number of Jewish families under the poverty line rose from 14.7 percent to 15.2 percent while the number of Arab families living in poverty rose from 54 percent to 54.8 percent.

This is the first time that the Welfare Ministry did not call a press conference in order to announce the results of the poverty report.

Labor MK Shelli Yachimovich said in response to the report that the most disturbing statistic was the rising number of working poor.

"This dangerous trend is due to the transfer to contract workers and manpower agencies that pay barely subsistent wages that makes the drop in unemployment irrelevant," Yachimovich said.

Meretz MK said that the situation is catastrophic and pushes the poor away from the rest of society.