A Globes Article Study:
30% of Israeli children live below the poverty line
June 30, 2004

By Zeev Klein

350,000 children in Israel are currently at risk, physically and emotionally, while over 600,000 children are members of poor families, according to a new study conducted by National Insurance Institute director-general Dr. Yigal Ben Shalom and economist Roni Bar-Zuri. The study was commissioned by the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, headed by Prof. Yaakov Kop, a senior economist in the field of social services and welfare.

The study reports that 150,000 children are at very high risk, almost in mortal danger, and states that their situation could deteriorate even further should the government continue its current policies of cutting social welfare budgets, particularly National Insurance Institute payments.

Ben Shalom and Bar-Zuri emphasize that the percentage of Israeli children living below the poverty line is the highest in the western world, and even higher than in some developing countries. 30% of children in Israel live below the poverty line, compared with 26% in Mexico, 22% in the US, 20% in England, 20% in Turkey, 12% in Spain, 12% in Greece and only 3% in Sweden.