Discussions are ongoing in the Knesset about the law to establish an Israeli Authority for the Fight Against Poverty. Fighting against poverty is crucial, since nearly 2 million Israelis live under the poverty line—but Israel’s Forum Against Poverty organization has sharply criticized the proposed law, arguing that the authority the bill aims to create may end up ineffective and overly politicized.
The establishment of a central Authority for the Fight Against Poverty, which was initially supported by the Forum Against Poverty, has already been delayed. According to the proposed law, the authority is meant to establish a national center for information and research in the field of poverty, coordinate between government ministries and local authorities on relevant policy, and advise the government on handling poverty. The authority is supposed to set standards for what it means to “live with dignity”—which is a right endowed to everyone in Israel according to a 1992 basic law—and formulate and oversee national plans for combating poverty.
The law has been widely criticized, with a significant amount of that criticism coming from the intention to close the National Council for Food Security—a professional advisory body established in 2011 that is supposed to integrate the government's activity on food security—and turn it into an advisory committee in the new central authority.
Another problem that has arisen is the composition of the council of the authority, which according to the law would include 27 members, including eight public representatives, at least one representative who is living in poverty, representatives of nonprofit organizations operating in the field, a social worker, an ultra-Orthodox representative, and an Arab representative.
Critics say this makeup has too few public representatives, which raises concerns about politicization. The Forum Against Poverty also asked for confirmation that people living in poverty can serve on the authority’s council without conflict of interest restrictions, and noted that receiving government support ought not be considered a conflict of interest.
Overall, the Forum Against Poverty said that establishing a central authority to combat poverty would be a significant step, but said that necessary amendments must be made to the law to ensure the Authority's effectiveness in the future.
The forum called for the preservation of the National Council for Food Security, describing it as a critically important body responsible for the food security of the entire population, and not only of populations living in poverty. In their policy paper, representatives from the Forum Against Poverty proposed adding a transitional clause that would ensure continuity in dealing with the critical issue of food security until the establishment of a parallel committee in the new authority and the beginning of its full activity.
In addition, the forum demanded the addition of a clause that will require all government ministries to work in cooperation with the authority when building annual work plans and when setting the budget, and to provide the authority with “teeth” when dealing with the ministries. The forum proposed that the authority be able to require all the relevant ministries to submit periodic reports to the authority detailing what measures have been taken to combat poverty, the extent of their success, and the budget used for these activities. The forum emphasizes that without these powers, the Authority may remain an advisory body only, with no real influence.
Another central issue in the position paper relates to the role of nonprofits in the fight against poverty. The forum expressed concern that the current version of the law could transfer the responsibility for the fight against poverty from the state to private organizations. In order to prevent this, the forum proposed adding a clarification to the law that will emphasize that the activities of nonprofit organizations do not replace the state's obligation to fight poverty, but rather complement it.
The forum also called for an explicit statement that this law is “intended to promote the human right to live with dignity,” as well as a clear statement of values.
This article was translated from Hebrew by Benji Sharp.
