This is an email that I receive today from a Rabbi in Israel (I was in his community) and I trust him and I know him to be legitimate:
Every year before Purim I reach out and ask my friends to partner with me in helping families in trouble. The economic situation has changed across the globe. As a direct result, here in Israel, so many hard working men and women have either lost their jobs or have suffered drastic cuts in their already modest salaries. Just this morning I was shocked to hear from a member of my own community that the electricity and water in their home are about to be shut off.....
You have our blessings and prayers. I have seen over and over again that when we show concern for others, G-d helps us in tangible ways. In the merit of this mitzvah may Hashem provide you with all your needs in abundance. Please help now.
This Rabbi is a real mentsch, he himself made aliyah a few years ago, a little bit after my aliyah. He has not once in his blog "push" aliyah upon his readers. Not once! He is the real deal. He knows that living in Israel is difficult and it's a communal obligation to help our fellow Jews, including the poor ones in Israel. But first, help the poor in your own community!
This is a 2005 report on poverty in Israel:
Israel has bypassed the United States and now leads Western countries when it comes to child poverty figures, according to a grim National Insurance Institute report released Monday.
According to the report, child poverty grew by about 50 percent since 1988, with about a third of all children living below the poverty line. Meanwhile, 28,000 additional families dropped below the poverty line in 2004, comprising 107,000 Israelis, 61,000 of them children.
Currently, 20.3 percent of families are poverty stricken, compared to 19.3 percent a year ago, the report said.
This is a 2008 report from Bituach Leumi (The National Insurance Institute):
National Insurance Institute report indicates no change in poverty indicators, despite overall rise in standard of living and wages. Rise in amount of elderly living under poverty line.
...
Researchers were also surprised to find a 2% increase in poverty indicators among Israel’s elderly, which constitute 20% of all Israeli households. There is also a continuing trend of impoverishment among working families, which can be explained by low-income jobs as well as part-time employment.
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Poverty levels remained relatively stable in 2006-2007, the report showed. Roughly 20.5% of Israeli families live below the poverty line in 2008, a slight increase from last year’s 20%. Moreover, 24.7% of Israel’s residents and 35.9% of its children live in impoverished families.
Paradoxically, Israelis’ standard of living appears to be on the rise, as is the number of working individuals in the country, which has risen by some 2% since 2006. Real wages earned by Israelis have also increased by some 1.6%. Minimum wages in Israel have also increased by nearly 3.6%.
This is a 2009 article addressing poverty in Israel:
Poverty is the biggest danger facing Israel today, Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog warned Monday as he unveiled disturbing data from the National Insurance Institute’s Annual Poverty Report for 2009.This is a 2010 report on Israel's high cost of living and low standard of economy:
The report pointed to a sharp increase in the number of Israeli families joining the poverty cycle, with more than 15,000 families – or 123,500 individuals – joining the growing ranks of poor people in this country in 2009, following the global economic crisis that set in at the tail-end of 2008.
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“We see from these statistics that there is a ‘new second Israel’ that is made up primarily of Arabs and haredim,” said the minister. “In both these sectors, there is a clear link between family size and poverty, and it is our job to encourage recognition of better family planning in the modern age and how women can be the key to this change.”
Israel is ranked 47th, just after Mexico but in front of Iceland which has suffered the worst financial crisis in its history. Israel received an overall score of 67 out of 100. For the sake of comparison, Cyprus and Bulgaria scored 68, while France scored 82.
Israel's low ranking is mainly the result of its poor infrastructure, which got just 36 points, and its high cost of living, which scored 39. In other categories Israel also failed to shine: 61 for economy, 68 for environment, and 71 for safety. Higher scores were given for culture and leisure (83), climate (84), health (85) and freedom (92).
I have to disagree on some of the higher scores in this report. The high score of 92 for freedom is unreal. Israel is a socialist country, just in case you don't know. If you don't like how the current president is leading America towards socialism, well, living in Israel will give you the real deal and taste of socialism. There is no freedom of speech in Israel. Maybe in the Knesset, and in the all too frequent government worker union strikes. Yeah, they have the freedom to do whatever they want -- stop traffic, delay people from commuting to work, prevent people from getting their mail, etc.
