An article by Nitsa (Kaliner) Kasir (published in Globes) showed that the economic situation among haredim is much better than the “official” poverty figures. The report on poverty and social gaps in 2017 published by the National Insurance Institute (NII) shows a general improvement in poverty in Israel. According to the report, the positive trend included haredi (Jewish ultra-Orthodox) society. Despite this improvement, however, one out of every two haredim is still classed as poor, compared with only one out of every 11 non-haredi Jews.
This portrayal does not correspond to the real situation. It ignores other aspects that should be taken into account and does an injustice to an entire group. In addition to the figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics on which the NII report was based, there are other figures based on a social survey and a consumer confidence survey by the Central Bureau of Statistics that make it possible to analyze the economic situation and poverty of the population in general and among haredim in particular.
