A third of Israelis will owe the bank for Passover

1/5 of the study’s respondents said that they are in permanent overdraft and that the holiday will not change that.

By DANIELLE ZIRI
A woman shops for Passover 370 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
A woman shops for Passover 370
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
A third of the country’s citizens will be in overdraft on their bank accounts as a result of Passover expenses, according to a survey published by the Paamonim NGO.
The organization offers guidance to financially struggling families to help them learn how to improve their economic circumstances and maintain financial stability.
One in five of the study’s 500 respondents reported that they are in permanent overdraft and that the holiday will not change that. Only one person in three indicated that they are not in overdraft and that the holiday will not affect the situation of their bank account.
Moreover, 69 percent of the people sampled indicated an intention to reduce the amount of their shopping this holiday, a quarter of whom said they will save on food items that they buy for the Seder.
While half of the respondents said they do not notice any change in their economic situation compared to last year, a fifth said they have seen improvement.
Israelis tend to prefer getting economic training to solve their financial difficulties rather than receiving food baskets for the holiday, Paamonim reported.
Still, the majority – some 60 percent – said they are not interested in any form of aid.
Uriel Lederberg, executive director of Paamonim, stressed that while the economic situation of many families before Passover is “very worrying,” he is happy to see that more families opt for guidance and financial support than food baskets for the holiday.
“Paamonim believes in long-term solutions,” he said. “Buying efficiently is very important, especially for Passover.
It begins with planning before buying with a detailed list of items written after careful thought. One should not buy what is not on the list and avoid being tempted to buy unnecessary things just because they are cheap.”
Lederberg, whose organization includes some 2,500 volunteers, called on the government to “ease the heavy financial burden on households, implement the promises made prior to the elections and ensure that more families will end the month and go through the holiday without falling into a financial hole.”