The Face Of Poverty In Israel

Yelena Elimelech, a 73-year-old woman who immigrated to Israel in the early 1990s has become the symbol of Israeli poverty after opposition leader and Labor party head Isaac Herzog spoke about her on the floor of the Knesset yesterday. But Elimelech is as much a victim of haredi refusal to work and the drain that puts on the country's treasury as she is a failed government social welfare policy.

Yelena Elimelech

The Face Of Poverty In Israel
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Yelena Elimelech, a 73-year-old woman who immigrated to Israel in the early 1990s has become the symbol of Israeli poverty after opposition leader and Labor party head Isaac Herzog spoke about her on the floor of the Knesset yesterday, Ynet reported.

Elimelech lives off a government old age pension of NIS 2,723 a month – about $776.

Asked how she can live on $776, Elimelech replied, "Live? That's not a life."

After paying rent on her tiny 291-square-foot state-owned apartment, electricity and other utility bills and for her medicine, Elimelech is left with just NIS 700 – $200 – to buy food, clothing and pay for bus fare.

"The truth is that I am very lucky because I have heating in my apartment. Other elderly people don't even have that," Elimelech reportedly said.  

Herzog lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Mr. Prime Minister, do you know how difficult it is to live off NIS 25 [$7] a day? This is the life of an elderly person living on a pension,” Herzog said.

Speaking to Ynet, Elimelech described her life.

"Every day I calculate what to buy, how to buy and where to save. After the payments and the medication, I don't have enough money left for food. I don't buy in the supermarket, for example. I go there like I would go to a museum – just to look. I do my shopping at the market [the open air market or shook] at the end of the day. The fruit and vegetables are not as good, but they cost less. I don't buy meat because I can't afford it. Sometimes I buy chicken,” she said.

1,754,700 people in Israel are poor; 817,200 of them children. 22.7% of senior citizens are poor, and many of them suffer like Elimelech does – or even worse – reportedly seven times more than most countries in the developed world.

Elimelech made came to Israel in 1991 from Belarus, where she was a civil engineer. But she was unable to work as one in Israel and instead was forced to work temporary jobs that did not give her pension rights.

"When I came here I didn't know a word of Hebrew and there was no chance of finding a job as an engineer. So I worked in everything else: Cleaning, kitchen work, caring for elderly people, everything I could find to make a living. I expect the state to help me. My two granddaughters have gone into the army and contributed to the country. My daughter is 100 percent disabled after being injured in a terror attack. I am not asking for luxury, but I am also a human being and I want to live, not just to breathe and sleep. I want to be able to host my granddaughters and buy them cake. I want to have money to travel on the bus and go to a concert once a month,” she said.

"We are being treated like second-class citizens. I would like the finance minister or prime minister to step into my shoes for a day so that they can understand my situation. They don't even see me and my friends,” Elimelech added.

According to a recent National Insurance Institute report, 18.3% of families in Israel feel a lack of food security, meaning they live in fear that they will not have food; 10.5% suffer from serious lack of security, which may include actual hunger.

The International Monetary Fund released a report on Israel's economy yesterday. It reportedly found that even though Israel has a relatively high growth level, Israel's poverty rate is one of the highest among developed countries.

Many of those poor are Arabs and haredim.

Much of haredi poverty, though, is self inflicted. Men choose to study in yeshiva full time well into middle age rather than work, and rely on a combination of state welfare benefits, state subsidies, and charity to survive. Haredim drain away money from the state welfare budget that otherwise could be used to help those who are poor through no fault of their own – like Elimelech and her friends.

In 20 years, 40% of Israel’s population will be either haredi or Arab. If both groups are not integrated into the workforce, Israel’s economic and security outlook is, experts say, not good.

Comments

[David]

+++. Men choose to study in yeshiva full time well into middle age rather than work, and rely on a combination of state welfare benefits, state subsidies, and charity to survive.+++

Only middle age? They don't suddenly work or get educated when they are 50. They stay unemployed bums by choice and maintain their parasitic lifestyle that drags everyone else down with them, including the lady in the story who has worked and contributed to Israeli society.

Also, I don't agree that they "study" or "learn" in Yeshivah. I think the appropriate term is "warehoused".

[Alter Kocker]

And there you have it. The Haredi population of Israel feels that it is their right to do sweet f**k all for the welfare that they receive, after all, their prayer keeps Israel safe. Not this lady. She has to live on $7 a day, so that some gross Haredi pig can sit all day in yeshiva or kollel, can work off the books, can have his wife shit out a new haredi every 9 months and get stipends for each little bundle of joy. Can refuse to even do government service. God forbid that the government increase old age pensions, the Haredim would riot for that increase for themselves and shit-for-brains politicians like Porush, Netanyahu, Litzman and Gafni would be right there to take the bread out of the mouth of a senior and give it to a good for nothing black hatted bastard to subsidize his lifestyle...because the bloc of votes that he represents overwhelms Mrs Elimelech's one little vote.

Here is what needs to happen. Stop paying the Haredim to do NOTHING! You want welfare, adopt workfare! Instead of making your way to yeshiva, you get on a bus, you go to a worksite, you clear roads, clean latrines, sweep, fix and do something for your payment. If not, GO TO WORK, and stop dragging down the economy. Let the little old lady eat instead of an entire class of people dragging the homeland of the Jewish people into penury.

[Jeff]

I think what bothers me most is the sheer stupidity. Netanyahu is the best friend they've ever had, yet when they lose even the tiniest fragment of their benefits (despite his best efforts to the contrary) they come out with stuff like, "We'll show Netanyahu we aren't to be trifled with!" Are they KIDDING me? He'd buy each and every one of them a solid gold shtreimel if he could get away with it.

If this is the sort of superior reasoning ability engendered by a "Toyreh" education, it would appear the "Toyreh" ain't good for much.

[jancsibacsi]

Jeff--Todays toyreh learning specifically in hassidishe yeshivas teaches you to be bereft of all shame or empathy for those not like them,in a sentence they are beyond the pale,no more humanity left in their soul only they exist, if a child get molested they couldnt care less and they proved it over and over again what can you ask of someone who is indifferent to an innocent childs life.

[rocky]

This story is consistent with the one on Dov Jacobovitz which appeared a few months ago. Read here: http://www.jta.org/2013/11/24/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/struggling-holocaust-survivors-in-israel-say-govt-must-do-more

In the meantime, AIPAC is more concerned about pushing the US into another Middle East war and never has anything to say about the resources being swallowed up by the Haredi, who refuse to work. Just how long does AIPAC expect Israel to last if the Haredi refuse to do military service, refuse to work, and fail to educate their children for useful work?

[S M L]

What a sorry statement. A society is judged on how it treats its deserving poor, its elderly, its disabled and its children. Israel gets failing grades in these areas while funds flow to idle black hats. This is the supposed Jewish homeland AIPAC would have the US support not just with treasure but with lives. This is the same kind of non-respect of the elderly shown by that Orthodox congregation somewhere in Europe which made WWII vets and their rabbi conduct a memorial observance outside in the rain and cold rather than let them into their building because they were presumably of a different religious stream. Nauseating to read about.

[FiyumiM]

Yes, the HAREDIM are always responsible!

Shmarya, you forgot something very important!

Purim is coming!

Warn all you friends to watch out for their kids!

They say that the Haredim use secular blood for their Hooman-Tashin!!

[FiyumiM]

Oy Vey! What did I do?!?!
Some of the ham-fressing screwballs that infest this site are liable to think that what I wrote is true. (If they could overcome the urge to nash a hoomantash?)
They WOULD believe anything about haredim even if it is only one of the fantasies that breed in the cesspool of SH's mind.
Just like the dumb Cossack believing the good old fashioned traditional blood libel.
With yidden like sh who needs antisemites?

[Jeff]

"ham-fressing screwballs"

Right. You swing a chicken over your head - but we're the crazy ones.

Shmarya doesn't have to concoct fantasies. You people do all of the work for him.

[FiyumiM]

Who is "you people"?
We don't.
This is a recent custom that should be forbidden.
Yosef Karo (in the Shuchan Aruch) wrote that it should be stopped. Superstition won out, but not everywhere!
Don't judge Judaism by what people do, try to learn and understand what they should be doing!

[Jeff]

"This is a recent custom that should be forbidden."

Fine, so that distinguishes you from the other cholent-fressing screwballs.

[FiyumiM]

Jeff! You got a problem!
A combination of ignorance of Judaism, general nastiness, and probably xenophobia.
Probably schizoid-paranoid or something. A good shrink is probably what you need. Probably not so serious. Don't worry, I"ve seen worse cases than you straightened out!
In the meantime, have some soul food, like hoomantachin. Its little Purim today, so happy little Purim!

[jancsibacsi]

FiyumiM--It takes one screwball to know another screwball,you are mentally deranged get help you only imagine youreself being normal.

[Alter Kocker]

FiyumiM
In the 4 posts you made on this subject, nowhere do I see any defence of this matter. What I do see is a)an attack on Shmarya Rosenberg, owner of this site. b) an attack on the membership of this site (yummm ham!) c)somewhat less of an attack, more like a suggestion that Haredim may be in error, but then an attack stating we should learn the proper forms of Judaism and finally d)an attack on Jeff.

Nowhere do I see any defence of the Israeli government for spending like drunken sailors on their Haredi buddies while leaving seniors in abject poverty leaning toward starvation.

Sir, you are a true Haredi troll. Since there is NO DEFENSE for depleting the resources of the Israeli economy so that a class of people can sit on their fat rear ends all day and "learn toyreh" without contributing one damn thing to the country, while a widow who has given one child to the defense of her country, can barely afford to feed herself. Frankly, I would like to see a sweeping change. NO WELFARE FOR ABLE BODIED HAREDIM WHO REFUSE TO WORK OR SERVE IN THE ARMED FORCES. This needs to become a battle cry in Israel, right through the next election. Let Netanyahu, Eichler, Gafni and their ilk quiver in their boots knowing their time is at an end.

[Jeff]

"Jeff! You got a problem!
A combination of ignorance of Judaism, general nastiness, and probably xenophobia."

I am not ignorant of Judaism, nor am I afflicted with xenophobia. I'm just nasty.

I find the accusation of xenophobia ironic, as it is probably the number one psychiatric ailment of the frum world.

Also, a frum person equating criticism of frumkeit with mental illness is tiresomely predictable. Judging by the content of your comments, you are in need of a mirror.

[Jake]

Putting things in perspective a bit...
A person with Social Security disability in the US makes about $950 a month plus they get Medicare.

And yes I do believe that most charedeim should work.