| Poverty in general, and among children in particular, is increasingly being recognized as a social problem that must be dealt with on a broad societal basis. Annual statistics published by the National Insurance Institute (NII) indicate that the proportion of Israeli citizens living in poverty is increasing. Since the 1970s Israel has adopted a relative definition of poverty that reflects the extent of deprivation and inequality. The poverty line is defined at 50% of the median net income and is adjusted to family size. While the proportion of children in poverty was reduced dramatically following the implementation of children's allowances in the mid 1970s, it has increased steadily since. Approximately 10% of Israeli children were living in poverty in the mid 1970s; this proportion increased to 18.6% in 1989. In 1990 the proportion of children in poverty reached its current level of 22% (Achdut, 1991 and 1995). In 1994 (the last year for which data are available), 18% of Israeli families had incomes below the defined poverty level, accounting for 23% of Israeli children (Ben-Arie, 1995). A recent international comparative study of poverty rates in 18 developed countries, using a relative definition of poverty, found that Israel, along with Ireland, had the second highest proportion of children in poverty after the United States (Luxembourg Income Study, 1994-95).
Poverty is more prevalent among new immigrants than veteran Israelis, though the extent of poverty among them is decreasing rapidly. In 1994, 24.3% of new immigrants and 29.5% of immigrant children had incomes below the poverty level, down from 30% of the immigrant families and 33% of their children in 1992. Families with four or more children are also disproportionately poor; 39% of families of this size fall into this category (Achdut, 1991 and 1995).
Poverty is also more prevalent among the Arab population in Israel. Due to the methodology of the survey that serves as a basis for the NII calculations, the data relating to the non-Jewish sector is incomplete, and the prevalence of poverty among this population may be higher than reported. According to the NII data (1995), approximately 35% of the families and 44% of the children in the non-Jewish sector live below the poverty level. Moreover, among this population social insurance programs are least effective at preventing and alleviating poverty, largely because these families tend to begin with incomes farther below the poverty line than Jewish families (Achdut, 1991 and 1995).
The effectiveness of social insurance mechanisms in reducing the extent of poverty has been consistent throughout the 1990s (Achdut, 1991 and 1995). Approximately 38% of poor families with children who were living below the poverty line were removed from poverty as a result of these mechanisms; on the other hand, the majority of such families are still below the poverty level even with government assistance. Most of those families who have been removed from poverty continue to have significant economic difficulties and require additional services. It is noteworthy that in 1994 the government implemented a new program for the prevention of poverty that included substantial increases in benefits paid under various social insurance programs. Moreover, one of the important developments is the change in the child allowance benefits structure, which will particularly benefit the Arab population.
Though there is ample information on the extent of poverty and its distribution among different population groups, little information is available about the consequences of poverty and its impact on the well-being of children and young people. Therefore, we do not have information on the extent to which poor children are denied access to social activities and experiences that are otherwise available to Israeli children or on the rates of deviance among poor children. It is evident, however, that poverty does have implications for numerous aspects of the well-being of children and families and serves as a background for other problems. Problems such as child abuse and neglect, under-achievement and failure to achieve minimal educational levels, dropping out of school and engaging in marginal activities are more prevalent among the poor.
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