Time to give Israel less money?
With Israel's economy thriving, shouldn't US Jews allocate more of their charitable dollars to local causes?
There is an old joke about how Golda Meir asked President Nixon, “People in the United States Need $30,000 of annual income to live, but the medium household income is $50,000 - what do people do with the additional $20,000?"
“We don’t ask questions” Nixon responded.
Nixon then turned to Golda Meir and asked, “In Israel, it costs $30,000 a year to live, but people only make $15,000. So how do they make the other $15,000?”
“We don’t ask questions either,” Golda Meir responded.
While on a visit to Israel this week, I noticed a billboard advertisement in Tel Aviv for a Chevrolet Mini SUV. The price tag was NIS 211,000, which is approximately $58,800 - double the price you would pay for the same car in the USA. One would think that such a car would be unaffordable for most people, but a quick survey of the roads shows that they are filled with cars that cost between $30,000 and $60,000.
In the small village I stayed in, which is not known for its wealth, many new large houses have gone up over the last few years. Whenever I ask where people have so much money from, I am told that it is a mystery and each person has their own story of how they get their money.
Israel more self-reliant
So from an outsider's perspective, which I admit is not very scientific, it seems that the economy in Israel is booming and that people have money in their pockets to spend. The statistics, however, also back this up. In 2006, Israel’s median household income in the world was higher than that of of Ireland and Hong Kong and many states within the US.In addition, recent data has shown that 2007 was the fifth consecutive year of rapid economic growth in Israel. Last year per capita growth in Israel reached 3.5%, the highest of all Western countries. Unemployment stood at a monthly average of 7.4%, while the standard of living has grown by 5.3%. All of this is very good news and the results are visible on the streets and roads of Israel.
There is however a question that Diaspora Jews should now be asking: with Israel’s economy outperforming most others in the Western world, should we still be allocating so much of our charity dollars to Israel? Now, I am by no means saying that we should not be giving some of our charitable dollars to Israel. However, as Israel grows richer, it may be becoming more self-reliant and not need as much outside help as it used to.
Local causes overlooked
The facts are that most Jewish Federations in the US and Europe give up to half of the money they fundraise from local donors to Israel. Now, whilst giving charity to Israel is laudable and a great mitzvah, clearly many local Jewish causes are being overlooked because of the heavy burden of supporting Israel.In fact, our outreach organization in Colorado has been told that because of the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado’s commitment to Israel, only very limited funding is available to us.
It is with tremendous delight and gratitude to God that I see Israel thriving economically. It is satisfying to see that people have money to build large houses and buy expensive cars and I hope that the growth in standards of living in Israel continues.
However, as this happens, Israelis should begin to take responsibility for their own and take money out of their own pockets to support the causes that have traditionally fallen to Jews in the Diaspora to support. As this occurs, philanthropic money will be freed up for Jewish causes that are in desperate need of being funded locally in the USA and Europe, but until now have been neglected in favor of causes in Israel.
