Poverty Report: 36% of Israeli Needy Live in Hunger

According to the report, a serious deterioration of the poverty problem has been felt over the years, as a result of jobs that do not supply sufficient income, lack of workplaces, the government’s failure to address the problem, a rise in food prices, the general public’s perception of the problem, and a drop in donations.

In the field of education, the report showed a 33% increase in the rate of children being removed from family homes. Every fourth needy parent has been forced to remove one or more children from their home and send them to another facility due to financial difficulties, compared to 18% of parents last year. Children in 70% of needy families have been unable to participate in school activities due to their parents’ inability to finance them, while 80% of needy parents were unable to provide their children with equipment needed for school.

At the same time as the problems increase, financial donations to Israeli aid organizations have dropped. Fifty-six percent reported a 27% drop in donations in 2008, with 78% of the organizations having a hard time meeting the demands of the needy, an 8% rise from 2007. “2009 will be a death blow. More organizations will collapse and more needy individuals will die as a result of lack of food and inability to receive medical treatment,” the statement read.

Excerpts of an article by Yael Branovsky, Ynetnews.com