Nearly one fifth (19.7%) of the Israeli public reports that their household income has suffered to a large or very large extent since the beginning of the war, according to a report published earlier this month. The "Alternative Poverty Report," issued by the anti-poverty NGO Latet (Hebrew for “to give”), also found that 45.5% of the public fear that they will fall into economic hardship during or following the war and that Israelis trust civil society organizations more than the government when it comes to dealing with issues of poverty. Directors of aid organizations, however, noted that they have not received funding increases from the government, despite the increase in the scope of their operations.
The report finds that in 2022, 2.6 million people in Israel lived in poverty according to Latet’s multidimensional poverty index, which examines a person or family’s ability to meet a variety of needs. This is compared to only 2 million who are defined as poor according to the National Insurance Institute data, which are based solely on income. Latet further notes that in 2022, 710,000 families, or about 22% of all families in Israel, qualified as food insecure, of which 332,000 (10.3%) qualified as severely food insecure.
Numerous respondents quoted in the report described a change in their lifestyle since the outbreak of the war on October 7. Elizabeth, an 89-year-old widow and Holocaust survivor from Holon, said: "I am facing a very difficult financial situation. The bank won't give me any more money, and even before the war I was struggling financially. I get some help from National Insurance, but it's not enough." Elizabeth, who gets around with the help of a walker, also testified that since she does not have a bomb shelter in her apartment, and there is no elevator in the building where she lives, when there is a siren she cannot protect herself and simply stays in her bed.
Esther, a 42-year-old mother of four from Nahariya,said: "During the Corona period, I had to close my business and my family reached a financial low, as a result of which we applied for assistance in the form of food packages. In our monthly budget, the expenses for food have increased because all the children are at home since the war started. I have to be careful every time I go shopping. Our spending on food has increased by about 60%." She also said that "there is a strong feeling of uncertainty, everything is unclear and unknown. Most of the activity I see on the ground is the activity of civil organizations, and not only organizations, everyone contributed what they could without much support from the government."
According to the report, which included a survey of 503 male and female citizens aged 18 and over from all corners of Israeli society, it appears that citizens trust civil society organizations more in dealing with issues of poverty than the government. Only 14.1% of the public trusts the government to prevent citizens from falling into poverty following the war. 22.1% reported that they did not trust the government at all in this matter, 36.6% trusted the government only to a small extent.
When asked about the trust they place in various organizations during the war in general (not only regarding poverty assistance), 73% of those surveyed testified that they trust in the Israeli military, 66% testified that they trust in civil society organizations, 58.6% testified that they trust local governmental authorities, 57.1% stated that they trust the police, 52.5% expressed trust in businesses in the private sector, 47.1% trust the judicial system and 42.7% trust the media. In contrast, only 21.9% of those surveyed stated that they trust the Knesset and only 19.9% trust in the government.
In their report, Latet gathered data from 87 directors of nonprofit organizations operating in 125 locations in Israel. These organizations have distributed a total of more than 130,000 food and hygiene emergency kits since the onset of the war, as well as 15,000 back-to-school kits, 12,000 winter gear kits. All of the nonprofit directors (100%) stated that they had not received any assistance from the government since the outbreak of the war, even though on average the associations have increased the number of supported families by more than half (58.1%).
Nearly all of the directors (96.6%) stated that they have started providing assistance to new families since the war, and 42.5% stated that they have expanded their activities to new locations. 69% of the directors reported that since the outbreak of the war their organization has been helping in areas where it had not helped before. For example, the director of a large food bank testified that they began to help purchase equipment for evacuees and soldiers, such as thermal clothing, flashlights, underwear, portable chargers, towels, bedding, and more.
Furthermore, 64.4% of the nonprofit directors responded that since the start of the war, welfare organizations and social workers have been redirecting requests for assistance to their organizations. 41.4% testified that municipalities and local government authorities were redirecting aid requests to their organizations as well. Despite this, 69% of the directors testified that they received no assistance at all from local authorities. 20.7% testified that they had received assistance and were satisfied with it, while the remaining 10.3% were only moderately or marginally satisfied.
In light of this, 59.8% of the nonprofit directors stated that there have been families or new applicants to whom the organization has not been able to provide assistance since the outbreak of the war, and only 9.1% of the directors believe that the government is responding to the needs arising from the war.
Despite the lack of government support, the nonprofit directors reported that it was the general public, the business sector, and charity organizations that came through to respond to rising material demands. A third of the managers reported a decrease in donations, a third reported that there was no change in the amount of donations and another third reported an increase in donations. This is a positive trend compared to the survey conducted in August, in which 54.8% of managers reported a decrease in donations and only 7.7% reported an increase.
A number of nonprofit directors are quoted in the report: "Evacuated families came to us in the city mainly from the South, but unfortunately neither the local authority nor the government had a solution for them" one director said. "Initially they were evacuated to community centers and private families. There was not enough thought given to the basic needs required by these families on a daily basis, and therefore a great deal of pressure was placed on our association to respond to the issue of food. But it was impossible in light of the high number of families in need. Neither the municipal authority nor the government released an immediate budget for the matter."
"We wanted to do everything we could for the displaced families, but unfortunately, due to a lack of resources, we had no choice but to maintain and fight for our existing families, so we did not take on additional projects," testified another manager. "The government is procrastinating on the issues of civil well-being. Financial and material aid to civilians is not their priority. We are met with a bureaucratic nightmare rather than a helping hand."
This article was translated from Hebrew by Etz Greenfeld.
