Because of the oligarchic nature of Israel's economy in which a few people control most of the economy & have the political influence to promote policies that increase their influence & their semi-monopolistic profits, Israelis over-pay for everything - and this gouging of the average citizen is on the order of between 20-30% - a staggering number.

BS stats ..... The 'Bitch' factor in Israel is quite high. Every shmoe goes around with the attitude that someone owes them a living and is constantly pining to have his mouth glued to the government teat. Anyone with half a brain in his head knows full well that in your good years you need to save for your bad years. Those bad years come with a thunder clap. If you fail to save and find yourself in trouble then quite frankly you have no one to blame but yourself. Of course should you be ill,infirm, crazy or a political hack then the state will care for you. People fall thru the cracks.. that's life.

but methinks this is proof of lifestyle choices... education levels, children per family, a mindset of reality in 2010 versus biblical times...

arabs and haredim should work, pay taxes, and serve in the National Service or Army. They should also not treat their women like dogs used only for breeding, but let them get a real education and work for living if they so choose! It is ENTIRELY their fault that they are poor and getting poorer. If they don't start learning and working, then they should emigrate- and good riddance to both! Ironically, as bad as the Haredim and Arabs claim to have it, they are the LAST to want to leave Israel because they would never have it better ANYWHERE else!

The absolute number of poor in Israel has actually delined in the past 10 years and keeps declining. More nuanced reports show that almost 40% of those today defined as "poor" would belong to the middle class only a decade ago. If Bill Gates would move to Israel, another 50.000 people would easily be added to this rubbish report as people who became "poor" in relative terms. Instead of publishing meaningless "poverty" reports, Israel needs to significantly upgrade the education level among Haredi Israelis and Israeli Arabs and bring most of them to the job market.

you know the economic refugees taking over Eilat and Tel Aviv! or does that number exclude them?

inexisting ! How can you make money , and save it , when you have'nt any serious profession ? When your earnings are just enough , if they are , to feed your family ? When you rely on social security ?

and I don't much care...however I did work and I did have a profession. And by the way I did attend Yeshiva as a kid..I am saying that as you love to hate religious Jews. No one paid by way thru anything and I saved a penny or two. Today I am on cruise control, and should G-d give me years then I will live, should he pull my ticket then there is not much I can do about it. That's how it is...While you have some control over your life..take control..if you don't by either being ill, insane or a serial mooch then the government will feed you but just barely.

....that's what they came here to do, after all. And usually without their families, whom they are caring for by working in a hostile country and sending money back home. So who cares more about their children? The foreigners who come here to work, or the kind of Israeli who refuses to work?

Don't you know that many of the poor are people with large families ? Don't you know that even with a decent income , the end of the month is very difficult for them ? So to save money ? from what ? Tell me "mister who went to a yeshiva" ! Your religious "education" did'nt allow you to distinguish between disliking State "milkers" , not contributors on one side , and no problems for me with decent working and contributing religious Jews on the other side . And , by the way , i'm lucky not to receive nor need one Agora from the State

So you talkbackers all think that the haredim should eat their own children in order to keep from starving? I have a university degree in Mathematics and 20 years working in the automotive industry. I have been unemployed for the past three years because of the poor economy. Suddenly, I have received a job offer! I will be more than happy to donate to yeshivas and mosdot in Israel, including Friends of the Nahal Haredi and Diskin Vocational School.

FYI lifestyle in Israel is slightly different than that of Canada and the US. Israel was a socialist society which in recent years evolved into capitalism - but still has retained remnants of socialism.

The arab sector are generally not as well educated as the jews so they will be doing lower paid jobs. The arabs also usually have more children than the average secular jewish family. The orthodox again they have very big families they sometimes can't afford. In many orthidox families there will be only one person with a job or there is the haredi and many of them do not want to work but spend time studying Torah. So those catagories are understandable. Amongst the seculars there are diffierent problems like the fact that wage earnings are usually not inline with infaltion so the pay check is worth less than it once was. There is the fact that Israel is slowly moving away from its old days as a socialist state where government owned businesses and created artificial jobs. Technology is replacing humans so no need to hire as many people etc. Israel is moving is much more of a market economy than it ws even 10 years ago and now it needs to stay competative in a global marketplace where if you can't deliver the right product at the right price then there is plenty of other countries that can. I don't know if this report includes them but we have the imported underclass in the form of the cheap labourers from abroad. Before the intefada palestinians did these jobs and they took their paycheck and went back to their homes outside Israel. Now we have all these Filipinos and Africans some here legally the most illegal, Israeli politicians don't have the heart to kick people out especially if they have a cute little child to wave around as a badge of honour and provide a justification for them to stay. The recent nonense over 1200 children of illegals for over a year the Knesset debated and debated, there were demonstrations in the streets against deporting the children and their families. Their friends and relatives back home looking to come to Israel will hear all about this and they will come and they will have children and say where is my new Israeli passport. So that incident has openened the flood gates to more illegals with children. There is also the issue of olim who come from non western countries or the one who have no money and are coming because they know the Sochnoot benefits package will help them get on their feet. I remeber at the merkaz klita when I first came to Israel there was an American guy who had never been to Israel in his life, he was no zionist etc. He had recently got divorced and lost all his money and he thought that it might be easier to start over in Israel with the benefits the state gives than it will be to start over in the US. So you have jews taking advantage of the system. I am actually surprised the poverty problem isn't higher because so much needs doing but isn't being done like bringing wages inline with inflation and deporting the illegals with or without children.

Advantages for Olim ? i did'nt receive any money . Only six months free healtcare , a year reduction on arnona . We do not , or almost not , export materials that need a great quantity of cheap labor . So , concurrence with abroad in this field is almost inexisting . Inflation rate is very low . In most developped countries they import cheap workforce for agriculture , locals won't do it . And what if we expell , or not allow , all those filipinos , thais etc ? Who will replace them ? who will take care of elderly people ? who can pay for it ? . In my country of origin they brought Sikhs for the fruit harvest .