UNICEF: Israeli Children Poorest in Western Nations; Greatest Income Inequality found in Israel

The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is reporting that Israeli children are the poorest in Western countries and their parents suffer from the greatest degree of income inequality among OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) nations. The newly released report looks at children in 41 Western nations between the years 2010 and 2014 in terms of health, income, education and living conditions. Despite Israel’s reputation for high tech and its celebrated multi-million dollar exits achieved by start-ups, the UNICEF report tells a far different story. About one-third of Israeli children suffer undiagnosed ailments and pain while the nation’s educational ranking is 33 out of the 37 OECD nations. The gap between Israel’s poorest children and middle class children is greater in only 4 out of 35 countries. The UNICEF report blames political factionalism and what it terms the “political immaturity” to overcome it as the main obstacle to improving the situation among children.