One-third of children live in poverty

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Quoting from the National Insurance Institute's new Poverty Report, the Taub Center's Social Economic Update stated that Israel has about 1.5 million poor, including 714,000 children. In 2004, the number of poor children rose by 61,200, meaning that one in three children lives below the poverty line. Israel has one of the highest proportions of poor children among those from developed countries. The Taub Center's projection is that the ratio will climb further in 2005 and 2006 due to a continuing policy of cutbacks in transfer payments to households with children. The Update also pointed to an escalation in poverty among senior citizens and households headed by single parents, including immigrants and non-Jews. Having a job does not necessarily lift people out of poverty, stated the report, adding that some 300,000 households in Israel are headed by working poor whose wages do not enable them to cross the poverty line.