Poverty rose sharply in Israel during pandemic

Josephine Faleye, 80, is prepared to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the Royal Free hospital in London on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

The number of Israeli households living under the poverty line has grown by nearly 50% during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an anti-poverty organization's report published Wednesday.

Israel has seen unemployment surge to over 20% since the country first imposed a nationwide lockdown at the start of the outbreak in March. Its vital tourism industry has shrunk to virtually nil and thousands of businesses have closed. To make matters worse, the Israeli government has been at loggerheads over passing a national budget, resulting in major cutbacks to social services.

According to Latet's report, the number of Israeli households living in poverty rose from 20.1% to 29.3% in 2020. It said an estimated total of 8,50,000 households in Israel lack essential housing, education, healthcare and food, with 268,000 falling into poverty since the start of the pandemic.

The report by Israel's largest anti-poverty NGO was based on the findings of surveys and studies conducted from July to October 2020. Israel has recorded over 348,000 cases and 2,932 deaths.

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