1.6 million Israelis live under poverty line

An annual poverty report released on Tuesday showed a slight improvement since last year, although 1.6 million Israelis — among them 756,900 children — continue to live under the poverty line.

The findings of the 2013 report, issued by the National Insurance Institute, showed that more households with two providers fell under the poverty line in 2013, and that among the ultra-Orthodox, there was only a small financial disparity between those who were employed and those who weren’t.

Labor party leader Isaac Herzog and MK Shelly Yachimovich pointed to the findings to argue that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration must end, while former finance minister Yair Lapid hailed the economic progress.

In order to be considered impoverished, a single person must earn less than NIS 2,989, a couple less than NIS 4,783, and a family of five less than NIS 9,000.

According to the report, the number of impoverished households dipped from 19.4% of the population in 2012 to 18.6% in 2013 — a difference of 96,000 people.

In 2013, 0.2% more households where both spouses were employed fell below the poverty line. The report also said that a family of six where both providers are paid minimum wage cannot survive financially.

The poverty rates remain highest among the Arab and ultra-Orthodox populations, though the former saw a 7% improvement in 2013 (standing at 47.4%). Poverty in the ultra-Orthodox community worsened in 2013 among the unemployed, declining from 66% a year earlier to 72.9%, in part due to steep cuts to the child welfare benefits.

Among members of these communities, who generally have difficulty integrating into the job market, those working made only slightly more than the unemployed, the report said.

“Among the populations where there are problems in the area of the job market, the difference between those working and those not working is small,” it said. “This points to failings in terms of salaries, such that there is a need not only to improve the welfare system, but also to enforce labor laws.”

More people — both men and women — were employed in 2013, as compared to a year earlier. The number of men who work stands at 79.6%, up 7.2%; the number of employed women hit 70.3%, a 5.7% increase.

In response to the report, prime minister hopeful Herzog said the “social crisis is getting worse,” adding that the “current leadership has no answers.”

“The situation will soon change, because we will lead with a different set of priorities,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yachimovich said the “1,600,000 poor people that the poverty report talks about is another 1,600,000 reasons not to vote Netanyahu.”

“The poverty levels are not destiny and not an calamity of nature, but rather a systematic, intentional, and cruel government policy,” she said.

Lapid, by contrast, hailed the findings, saying he was “proud” of Welfare Minister Meir Cohen.