Any student of nineteenth century British history and literature is certainly aware of Benjamin Disraeli's incisive words on the social divide in Victorian England. In his novel Sybil, Disraeli wrote of "two nations between whom 
The success of a state can be measured in how far it has gone in fulfilling the objectives of its founding fathers.
there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other's habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets. The rich and the poor."
If Disraeli's flowing prose could remain the preserve of academics or lovers of English literature, then we would have reason to feel satisfied in at least one aspect of human progress; yet the situation in Israel on Passover Eve 5769 shows that Disraeli's language has a contemporary relevance.
Reading how a Jewish mother in Lod told Arutz Sheva, "I sometimes have nothing to feed my children. I don't even have bread, which is a basic necessity", and reading the reports of the proliferation of soup kitchens, provide sufficient indication of serious social problems eating away at the fabric of Israeli society. These social problems have not been created by the present world depression, but they are certainly being exacerbated by significant numbers of people who formerly supported themselves in dignity now compelled to seek the charity of others.
The success of a state can be measured in how far it has gone in fulfilling the objectives of its founding fathers. The Zionist leaders of the previous century, who transformed their vision of a state into a reality, were primarily motivated by the laudable goals of creating a refuge from anti-Semitism and building a country where the sharp divides of wealth that characterized the old Europe would not be present. Addressing the anti-Semitism issue is not the aim of this article, but all the surveys I have seen show that this evil is at least as prevalent now as it was in the 1930s; and I wonder if the residents of Sderot are feeling so much safer than the residents of Vilna eighty years ago. Perhaps, if the social divide had been reduced, we would at least have had the satisfaction of the half-full cup, but government statistics present contemporary Israel as the country with the sharpest divisions between the "haves" and "have nots" in the developed world.
Those Western immigrants who are able to comfortably establish their homes in "Anglo" areas are often no more aware of the Israeli underclass than the character addressed in Disraeli's novel. This detachment from the hard realities many Israeli families encounter in the daily struggle to survive is shared by the native-born Israeli elite, living their lives almost exclusively in the lush suburbs of north Tel Aviv and along the coastal belt towards Netanya. It is not coincidental that the political, judicial and military elites are, for the most part, drawn from these wealthier areas.
If the recent dramatic increase in professional and managerial redundancies has had any positive side, it is perhaps the first exposure of formerly privileged Israelis to the poverty faced by so many of their fellow citizens. In the offices of the National Insurance Institute, and in the employment offices, and in the most extreme cases in the offices of charitable organizations and soup kitchens, they are compelled to confront a side of Israeli life that previously escaped their attention.
The fact that one third of Israeli children are living in poverty is reminiscent of the situation in the Jewish community in Poland in the 1930s and poses one of the major challenges facing contemporary Israel. Whether you approach the problem from the perspective of Jewish morality or secular measurements of a nation's wellbeing, it cannot be safely ignored. Our children represent our future and we cannot afford to leave them living in conditions detrimental to their healthy physical and emotional development.
Claims that there is no cash available for guaranteeing a minimum standard of living to the poorest of Israelis ring hollow.
Given all the ingenuity and energy the people of Israel have displayed over the past sixty years in defense of their homeland and in its development, I cannot accept the argument that the resources are not available to alleviate the plight of Israel's underprivileged. The current level of 2,500 shekels (600 dollars) a month given to a long-term unemployed family does not even allow them to meet their most basic food, housing and clothing needs. If funds are available to turn a quarter of Israeli Knesset members into well-paid cabinet members, if a small fortune can be spent expelling 10,000 Jews from Gush Katif, not to mention launching failed wars in Lebanon and Gaza, then claims that there is no cash available for guaranteeing a minimum standard of living to the poorest of Israelis ring hollow.
Exploring changes in taxation and benefit levels needed to make a serious impact on poverty merits a separate article, but the first steps have to involve the creation of bridges between the two halves of our nation. As a divided house, we cannot withstand the tremendous challenges our country is confronting.