Knesset Member and Meimad chairman Rabbi Michael Melchior charged Sunday that the report on poverty issued on Sunday is a disgrace to Israel. Speaking in response to the report released by the National Insurance Institute, he said, "These findings that show that half of the children in Israel are under or close to the poverty line are a sign of disgrace to the State of Israel.”
Melchior added, "A state with such gaps is unable to be called a Jewish State."