The 2012 Alternative Poverty Report published by the Latet organization is cause for concern. Latet's executive director, Eran Weintraub, has raised the alarm by releasing disturbing statistics suggesting a deterioration in the condition of poor children. Poverty must top our national agenda, he said. Even those who beg to differ will agree that it should be a high priority. The data revealed in the report are indeed troubling. Reality too, presents painful scenarios on a daily basis. In an unrelated event, several dozen Holocaust survivors on Sunday marched to demand that the Finance Ministry provide them with benefits they were promised and without which they cannot subsist at a basic level. Famed football coach Avram Grant marched with them, despite the fact that he is not among the needy. Even if we accept the ministry's claim that the money was in fact transferred but got lost amid red tape, this does not excuse or explain or comfort those in need. It is the ministry's responsibility to follow up and make sure the money reaches its destination. Every week it's something else. The problem with well-intentioned reports like those by Latet is that they point out serious hardships that require an immediate remedy. But they fail to push for the fundamental changes in Israeli society that would improve the situation. Back when he was Finance Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu used to say that he would rather give the poor a fishing rod than a fish. A fisherman can provide for himself, while the person who receives a fish is hungry again the next day. There is no question that Israel needs to care for those in need. Israelis brought up on the ideals of social democracy and mutual responsibility that informed the Labor Party, or on Ze'ev Jabotinsky's "Five Mems" mazon (food), maon (housing), malbush (clothing), moreh (education) and marpeh (medical care) which developed into the platform of the Likud, cannot accept a reality in which children go barefoot or hungry or unclothed. Having said that, too many of Israel's "poor" are a statistical manipulation that does not reflect reality. The time has come to separate the wheat from the chaff. How many of Israel's "poor" receive welfare benefits and at the same time work off the books? How many tradespeople take cash under the table while claiming to be unemployed? Israel has poured vast sums of money into welfare over the years, but has failed to crack down on these cheats, just as it has allowed tycoons to concentrate much of the country's wealth in the hands of just 18 families. Within the Arab and ultra-Orthodox communities, the problem requires a complete overhaul. Poverty cannot be eradicated by handouts. Rather, there must be an effort to break what MK Rabbi Haim Amsallem (Whole Nation) describes as the cycle of poverty in the haredi sector, both Sephardi and Ashkenazi. The injustice of poverty must be eradicated on the condition that the haredi and Arab sectors realize that they cannot forever avoid entering the workforce. In addition, these groups should receive no benefits unless they teach core subjects like English and math in their schools. Only thus can they begin to extricate themselves from the economic trap that perpetuates itself through the generations. Yes, we must act now to combat poverty. The steps we take now will also work to eradicate poverty later.
