Labor and Welfare Minister Shlomo Benizri released the official 2000 report on poverty in Israel today, warning that as bad as it was, the situation is likely to worsen next year. The report shows that almost 30,000 Israelis were added to the poverty roles in 2000, giving a total of almost 1.16 million poor people, or 314,000 families. The poverty line has been defined as a monthly income of 1,670 shekels per person, or 1753 shekels in today\'s prices. It is determined by taking the salary that marks the level dividing the richer half of the country from the lower half, and then dividing that in half.
Minister Benizri, followed later by radio commentators, emphasized often that behind the statistics lie real people. The numbers show that 60,000 new immigrant families are under the poverty line. Bnei Brak leads the list with 38% of its families under the poverty line, trailed by Jerusalem (27%), and Ashdod (22%).
Benizri said that the National Insurance Institute payments - child allowance, income supplements, etc. - are saving the situation from being much worse, and that they must therefore not be cut. \"Child allowance payments helped us cut poverty last year in some 45% of the families,\" he said today. Shas leader Interior Minister Eli Yeshai said that because the situation has worsened this year, \"the budget and cuts in social welfare requested by Finance Minister Silvan Shalom must be reconsidered.\"
Finance Minister Silvan Shalom said, on the other hand, that the grave statistics show how important it is for the government to approve the budget changes that his office proposes. Minister Tzippy Livni told Arutz-7, \"The proposed budget was based on wrong assumptions, because of objective changes that no one could have foreseen... We must therefore make a new evaluation of our national priorities, and divide up the budget accordingly; this job is being made difficult by all sorts of expensive private legislative bills. I therefore call upon all MKs to withdraw their populist bills which are designed to make them look good to their voters, and let us back the Prime Minister and Finance Minister in setting a new and correct national agenda of priorities.\"
Opposition leader Yossi Sarid (Meretz) took the opportunity to take a swipe at all past and present Israeli governments: \"All the governments, both right and left, have been running the same acquisitive policies that have created the largest social gap in the developed Western world… This gap endangers Israel more than all the terrorist groups.\" Some reactions took an anti-religious tone. MK Avraham Poraz (Shinui) said, \"There are many people who are poor-by-choice, people who don\'t want to work and have many children without thinking about their future.\"
Minister Benizri, followed later by radio commentators, emphasized often that behind the statistics lie real people. The numbers show that 60,000 new immigrant families are under the poverty line. Bnei Brak leads the list with 38% of its families under the poverty line, trailed by Jerusalem (27%), and Ashdod (22%).
Benizri said that the National Insurance Institute payments - child allowance, income supplements, etc. - are saving the situation from being much worse, and that they must therefore not be cut. \"Child allowance payments helped us cut poverty last year in some 45% of the families,\" he said today. Shas leader Interior Minister Eli Yeshai said that because the situation has worsened this year, \"the budget and cuts in social welfare requested by Finance Minister Silvan Shalom must be reconsidered.\"
Finance Minister Silvan Shalom said, on the other hand, that the grave statistics show how important it is for the government to approve the budget changes that his office proposes. Minister Tzippy Livni told Arutz-7, \"The proposed budget was based on wrong assumptions, because of objective changes that no one could have foreseen... We must therefore make a new evaluation of our national priorities, and divide up the budget accordingly; this job is being made difficult by all sorts of expensive private legislative bills. I therefore call upon all MKs to withdraw their populist bills which are designed to make them look good to their voters, and let us back the Prime Minister and Finance Minister in setting a new and correct national agenda of priorities.\"
Opposition leader Yossi Sarid (Meretz) took the opportunity to take a swipe at all past and present Israeli governments: \"All the governments, both right and left, have been running the same acquisitive policies that have created the largest social gap in the developed Western world… This gap endangers Israel more than all the terrorist groups.\" Some reactions took an anti-religious tone. MK Avraham Poraz (Shinui) said, \"There are many people who are poor-by-choice, people who don\'t want to work and have many children without thinking about their future.\"