An annual poverty report released by the National Insurance Institute on Wednesday found that an additional 34,186 Israelis, 20,000 of them children, dropped below the poverty line in 2014. According to the report, a total of 1.7 million Israelis live beneath the poverty line, among them some 776,000 children. These figures place Israel among the most poverty-stricken countries in the developed world. NII director general Professor Shlomo Mor-Yosef presented the report along with Welfare and Social Services Minister Haim Katz at a press conference at the Knesset on Wednesday. "This report is shocking and harsh, but it will take time to root out poverty," Katz said. Still, he promised that "the data will be better next year." Professor Daniel Gottlieb, deputy director general for research and planning at the NII and the author of the report, explained that poverty worsened in Israel after, among other things, cuts to child benefits. According to NII guidelines, unmarried individuals earning less than 3,077 shekels ($795) per month are defined as living in poverty, as are couples earning less than a combined 4,923 shekels ($1,273) per month. The same is true for families of five earning less than 9,230 shekels ($2,386) per month. Some 277,000 working citizens fall into the poverty category. According to the report, the poverty rate among working families rose from 12.5% in 2013 to 13.1% in 2014. Among OECD countries, Israel comes in second to last, with only Mexico having a higher poverty rate. The poverty rate among ultra-Orthodox Israelis grew slightly to reach 54.3%, despite data pointing to a rise in the number of haredim [ultra-Orthodox] joining the job market over the last year. Some two-thirds of haredi children live in poverty. The poverty rate among the Arab community rose by one percentage point to reach 52.6%. Among senior citizens, the poverty rate rose from 22.1% to 23.1%. According to Katz, "In the current budget, we increased allowances for senior citizens eligible for income support, and we created a tool to reduce inter-generational poverty via savings grants for each child. These steps will help reduce poverty levels." Before the report came out, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon incorporated poverty-shrinking initiatives into the 2015-2016 budget. Following recommendations from the Welfare and Social Services Ministrys Fight against Poverty Committee, billions of shekels were allocated to welfare and employment programs, as well as to targeted anti-poverty programs. Some 2.65 billion shekels ($685 million) were allocated for child benefits and savings grants. A further 580 million shekels ($150 million) were allocated for income support for the elderly living in poverty.
