On Sunday, Bituach Leumi released its semi-annual poverty report signaling a decline in national poverty as compared to 2006. However, Bituach Leumi officials’ state in an authoritative tone that if the global economic crisis continues at its current pace, next year’s poverty report will include new harsh realities.

Nachum Itzkowitz, the director-general of the government’s Social Affairs Office, explains that not only will unemployment reach or exceed 8%, there will be an increase in crime, an increase in the breakdown of the family structure, and even an increase in the mortality rate. He reports the experts predict an 7% increase in homicides, 4% increase in arrests, and an even more alarming 40% increase in the number of children and juveniles classified ‘at risk’.

Itzkowitz also reports a predicted increase of up to 8% in divorce, a 6% increase in deaths due to heart attack, and a 4% increase in suicides. He said if the doomsday prophecy proves itself true, it will have a disastrous impact on social services, which already is responsibly for dealing with 1.2 million cases.

On the brighter side if you will, the Bituach Leumi report released on Sunday shows the number of families living below the poverty line to be 19.9%, a decline from 20% in 2006. Regarding the number of individuals living under the poverty line in 2007, the report shows that number to be 23.8% as compared to 24.5% in 2006.

For the first time in a decade there was a decline in the number of children living in poverty, 34.2% in 2007 as compared to 35.8% in 2006.  The good news however does not carry over to the senior citizens, climbing over 1% to 22.6%.

The report also proves [once again] that poverty is not caused by “laziness”, citing that among the nation’s poor families, 46% are working families. Actually, in 60% of the families classified as ‘poor’, someone in the family is employed in some capacity.

Despite the statisticians’ optimism exhibited in the report, Labor & Social Affairs Minister Yitzchak Herzog stated painfully that all projections for 2009 are bleak at best. “I do not wish to instill panic” stated the minister, “but we must prepare and face the hard facts”.

Bituach Leumi officials report they are aware of the bleak realities and projections for the coming year and have relaxed qualifications for one to obtain unemployment benefits towards preparing for an expected wave of unemployment.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)