2.54 Million People in Israel Live in Poverty, Latet Report Finds
Some 2.54 million people in Israel or some 27.8% of the population, including 1.118 million children, live in poverty, according to a report released on Monday by the Latet aid organization. The figure represents nearly 652,000 families and amounts to nearly 25% of households, the group’s annual poverty report reveals.
The report highlights a new category of poverty-stricken Israelis. These are the “middle class poor,” families that are edging closer to poverty that have had difficulty in recovering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, according to the report, the middle class in Israel has shrunk from 58.3% before the start of the coronavirus crisis, to 48.3% today
The report found that some 633,000 families suffer from food insecurity compared to 513,000 two years ago, before the pandemic. The number of households in poverty which peaked in October 2020 at the height of the coronavirus crisis has gone down, though it could rise again as emergency measures put into place by the government to alleviate problems caused by the pandemic are ended.
Meanwhile, the report found that nearly 39% of aid recipients have been infected with the coronavirus, which is 3.32 times higher than the general public.
It is the 19th year that Latet has published its Alternative Poverty Report, a response to the official report published annually by the National Insurance Institute. The NII report relies solely on income level to determine poverty, while the Latet report also tackles issues such as food insecurity, living conditions and other deprivation.
The Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee reportedly planned to convene a special session on Tuesday to discuss the 149-page report.
