West Bank Settlements Disproportionately Poor Because Of Haredim

Almost 30% of all west Bank settlers are now haredi, and their disproportionate (and most often self-imposed) poverty forces Israel's government to disproportionately subsidize the settlement towns they live in.

 

According to Ynet, the Government of Israel spent more money per capita on Jewish West Bank settlements that it does on development towns within Israel proper. The government gave $83 per capita to the average Israeli town, $168 per capita for development towns (poor, often remote towns within Israel proper that the government is trying to turn into strong regional centers), and $260 per capita for settlements on the West Bank and Golan Heights in what are called balance grants, which are blocks of money given by the central government to cities and towns to help them balance their budgets.

Why do settlements get more money than every other town?

Because settlements take in much less per person in taxes than do other cities and towns.

Why is that?

In part, it is because many West Bank settlers are economic refugees from Israel proper who moved to the West Bank for its cheaper cost of living.

It stands to reason that a disproportionate number of those settlers will earn less money than an equally educated inside Israel cohort of the same age and ethnic origin.

But there is another factor that is even more determinative of the need for what essentially is welfare payments to cities and towns – haredim.

About 30% of the population of Jewish West Bank settlements are now haredi, and as you know, many haredim choose not to work and many pay no taxes – even when they do have jobs:

…The independent income of local authorities in the territories in 2009 stood at NIS 2,523 ($690) per capita, less than half the income per capita in cities belonging to the "15 well-established cities" forum, which do not receive any balancing grants and fund all services from their income.

Rise in haredi cities' population

The large gaps in the local authorities' income also stem from their residents' socioeconomic status, but also from the scope of aid they receive from the government, which makes it unnecessary to collect taxes and impose fees and fines.

The low income of local authorities in the settlements can be ascribed to the increasing growth in the population of the ultra-Orthodox cities, Modiin Illit and Beitar Illit, whose population made up 28% of the settler population at the end of 2009.…

Yes, aid from the central government does make it easier for settlement towns to not collect taxes, fees and fines.

But 28% of all West Bank settlers are predisposed not to pay taxes while at the same time being a large draw on local welfare resources – haredim.

Comments

[Choni Davidowitz]

Solve the problem by kicking out all hostile Arabs from Israel.

[Alexis]

What percentage of the haredim live in Beitar Illit and Kiryat Sefer--known to be large and very poor? I would be interested to see how much those two cities alone are sucking up.

In some of the non-haredi towns (which often have a high socioeconomic level, like Maale Adumim or Efrat), it seems like the government is subsidizing additional services: the "balance grant" may be funding an inflated budget.

[Guest]

It's like that in every country in the world.

In America, for example, cities that have large black populations are eating up more welfare and handouts from the government than other areas.

In France and England, areas that have heavy concentrations of African immigrants have disproportionately higher welfare payments.

In Israel, haredi and Arab areas eat up more welfare than other areas.

This is the beauty of socialism. You keep large voting blocs dependent on government, so that they keep voting for you.

[p]

So I must conclude that the 70% of the west bank settlements that are not haredi are not poor.

[who knows]

Your assumption is correct - most west bank settlements are not poor.

[shish]

Solve the problem by kicking out all hostile Arabs from Israel.

Posted by: Choni Davidowitz | September 19, 2011 at 06:25 AM

Moron. Complete and total moron.

Do you're Israeli brothers and sisters a favor and cease voicing any of your harmful and moronic opinions.

Idiot.

[No Light]

Guest - name the towns in the UK. This should be really interesting.

My former home town had a huge proportion of minority residents who paid no taxes, almost all claimed huge amounts of benefits, and were generally hostile and demanding.

I lived in Bensham. Look it up.

[shish]

Posted by: Guest | September 19, 2011 at 10:31 AM\

Typically stupid comments.

There is no other country in the world in which an poor, radical contingent not only consumes huge amounts of state funds, but also demands enormous military resources to maintain their safety, all the while refusing to contribute to the state's economy or general welfare in any tangible manner.

The Ultra-Orthodox are opportunistic and exploitative in Israel, as they are in the US...

[seymour]

Solve the problem by kicking out all hostile Arabs from Israel.

Posted by: Choni Davidowitz | September 19, 2011 at 06:25 AM

wtf are you talking about

[seymour]

Posted by: shish | September 19, 2011 at 05:34 PM
and gust

in most countries the military is made up disproportionately from the poor.

NOT SO with the herdeim they cannot even give that back to the country they live in

they give nothing and demand plenty

[seymour]

Posted by: shish | September 19, 2011 at 05:34 PM
and guest

in most countries the military is made up disproportionately from the poor.

NOT SO with the herdeim they cannot even give that back to the country they live in

they give nothing and demand plenty

Posted by: seymour | September 19, 2011 at 06:51 PM

[SkepticalYid]

@Guest:
1. Tell me exactly what the numbers of blacks vs. whites on welfare in america would be. Cite sources, you miserable bigot.

2. Welfare isn't socialism. You don't have a clue what you're talking about.

[Adam Neira]

The solution for poverty in Israel and Judea and Samaria is for the GDP to grow progressively over time. Last year's growth rate of 5.4% was impressive. (Stanley Fischer is doing a good job.) The combined GDP of Israel, Judea and Samaria/The West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and, Syria and Lebanon was $1.6 Trillion in 2010. This can easily grow by more than 5% p.a. over the coming 38 years. This is why there must not be a Settlertown next to Westbankistan. The region must be shared. The current UN PA vote drama is going to force people to look for more expansive solutions. A win win philosophy can prevail. Scarcity is a mindset.

The dependent sectors of a population are : Special Needs People; Aged Pensioners; The Sick and Injured; Genuine Unemployed; Students; Children and Infants. Everyone else should be in the taxpaying sector. The organs of a State are : Government - Federal/Regional/Local; Civil Service; Intelligence Service; Judiciary; Defence Force; Police/Sheriffs/Prisons.

In an expanded Messianic Kingdom/Special Regime you would also have the CEO/Moshiach/King plus the Inner Circle/Board of Directors/Sanhedrin.

If the right management structure prevails from Jerusalem the whole region will benefit. Too many people are thinking "inside the box" of their limited conceptual realm.

Where's the vision ?