Chapter 8: Issues in Welfare Policy

The incidence of poverty,as measured by the relative index customarily used in Israel,rose in 2005 to a level of 24.7 percent.Some reduction in poverty was evident in 2006,however,and in the year to June 2006 it reached 24.4 percent. Alternative poverty indices which consider a household poor if its income is lower than that required to buy a basic basket of goods,also indicate a decline in poverty in 2005,after rising in the previous three years. Forty percent of the poor manage to consume more than the amount indicated by the poverty line,but the high rates of poverty prevailing for years make it difficult for the weaker sections of the population to maintain a reasonable standard of living,so that the level of consumption of sixty percent of the poor,as well as their income level,is below the poverty line. The incidence of poverty is high and has risen over the years among large families,those with low levels of education,and families with few breadwinners,especially among Arabs and the ultra-orthodox (Haredi). Growth contributes to the reduction of poverty among those well integrated in the labor market,but no such effect is evident among those with low rates of participation. The extent of poverty is a forceful reminder of the need for an ongoing policy of reducing poverty,together with fiscal discipline that supports sustainable growth.The policy should be directed towards encouraging those capable of working to join the labor force,increasing the return to labor for those on low wages,and directly supporting the poor who have low earning power. At the beginning of 2007 the government decided on steps intended to narrow social gaps in Israel and to increase the rate of participation in the labor market.These steps included the introduction of earned income tax credits (EITCs),compulsory pension schemes,increased enforcement of labor laws,and subsidy of day centers and nurseries to enable mothers to go out to work.These measures are intented to be introduced gradually,by 2010.Poverty; Israeli Economy; Consumption poverty

The Reflection of the Ethnic Ethos in the Shaping of Mizrahi Female Characters, in the Light of the Literary Criticism of Yaakov Churgin’s Books – Sipurim (1928), Alumot (1957), and Yalkut Sipurim (1981)

This article suggests taking a close look at the stories of Eretz-Israel author Yaakov Churgin (1899 – 1990) as a hybrid system of identities, that is ambivalent and unclassified, that can also fit stories about Jews of Ashkenazic origin as they were portrayed in the stories of the Jewish shtetls by authors such as Shalom Aleichem, Dvora Baron, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Shay Agnon, while identifying the similarity between secular or enlightened Orientalism’s attitude to traditional or religious society, and Ashkenazic Orientalism’s attitude to the Mizrahi Jews in Eretz-Israel. The article will also suggest a new diachronic examination of the literary criticism regarding Churgin’s writing in its ethnic context, that will review the primary criticism over the years and address the characteristics of this criticism in light of the changes over the years

The Attitude of Jewish Sephardic Ladino Writers in the El Maccabeo Journal in Thessaloniki at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century towards the Situation of the Jews in the Various Parts of the Diaspora

The contribution of the Sephardic-Jewish communities to historic-literacy processes shaping the image of the Jewish people was also expressed in periodicals. Ladino-speaking writers wrote in important newspapers in the Balkan lands and Eretz-Israel, and also published and edited their own newspapers. The purpose of this article is to introduce the topics featured in the El Maccabeo journal – published in Thessaloniki as an annual in the early twentieth century (1914-1931) – that discuss, identify and demonstrate solidarity and empathy with the situation of the Jews in other countries, particularly Europe, and compare their situation to that of the Jews in Thessaloniki. It can be learned from reading El Maccabeo that Sephardic Jews were well acquainted with the situation faced by the Ashkenazic Jews in their various communities, and their feelings about their Ashkenazic brethren wavered between pity and respect. They viewed them as their brothers with the phrase “our brothers” featuring in almost every article.

The Dreyfus Affair and its Reflection in Ladino Literature

The Dreyfus Affair took place in the fall of 1894, when secret documents sent by a French officer to the attaché of the German embassy in Paris fell into the hands of the French intelligence services. Based on some similarity in the handwriting, and apparently also because of anti-Jewish prejudice, the intelligence service heads suspected Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army. The court unanimously found Dreyfus guilty of treason, and he was sentenced to be stripped of his rank and to life imprisonment. The purpose of this article is to reflect the literary expression of the Dreyfus Affair in Ladino literature. The article will discuss several genres of literature in Ladino about the Dreyfus Affair during different periods: two historical novels, two plays, and a newspaper article, while examining the correspondence between the different compositions

Ridiculing the Female Characters in Israeli Hebrew Children’s Literature – From a Gender-Oriented Stereotype to a Feminist Protest

The differences between the genders and attitudes toward the feminine and masculine domains are already recognizable during early childhood. Blatant sexism can be distinguished in a number of Israeli Hebrew children’s books written several decades ago on the subject of the grotesque woman, and which have become classics still read in preschools. The women in these stories are described as bewildered, confused, and absentminded. Since these Hebrew literary texts are extremely popular among preschool teachers, this article firstly promotes awareness of the issue. Later, this article will suggest a new way of reading that will lead to deeper understanding of the messages and change gender-oriented stereotypes, common in the past, to a feminist protest of the present. Discussion and conversation with children regarding the essence of the gender-oriented viewpoint in shaping the grotesque woman, its motives, and other insights that can be reached through the figure’s activity, conversation, and behaviour, can serve as a tool for the development of a person capable of critical thinking, independence, and having values

Children’s Toys and Games during the Shoah, as Reflected in Five Hebrew Books

The article will discuss games and toys connected to transmitting the legacy of the Shoah, as reflected in five Hebrew stories: Hadubi shel Fred [Bear and Fred: A World War II Story] by Iris Argaman, Grandpa's Third Drawer: Unlocking Holocaust Memories by Judy Tal Kopelman, Bubah me’erets aheret [A Doll from Another Country] by Ofra Galbert Avni, Hasodot shel savtah [Grandma’s secrets] by Ayana Friedman-Wirtheim, and Kaleidoscope by Hava Nissimov. The article will depict the toys found in the books as exhibits for transmitting the legacy of the Shoah, as visual symbols that are also sociocultural objects, as a means of survival for children during the Shoah period, and as relators of a narrative that is passed on from one generation to the next. The article will also discuss the illustrations that accompany the text as contributors to their visual symbolic language

Education Towards Jewish Values in the Israeli State Preschool: Its Character, Essence, and Scope

A Jewish–Israeli identity incorporates two identities—Jewish and Israeli, and various philosophers suggest different ways to view the combination or separation of these identities. Agasi and Samucha come from different approaches to suggest ways of integrating both identities. They speak about the existing division between the two identities, in light of the unique characteristics of the State of Israel. The ever-increasing essential need for providing a significant and systematic solution to the issue of value-based education and nurturing the Jewish-Israeli identity of the students of the State education system must be seen in light of the collapse of values in many postmodern Western societies. The existing education system perpetuates the division into sectors that divides Israeli society from within. At the same time, the emphasis in State preschools examined in this article, is on culture and nationalism, as connected to values of good behavior towards others. The findings show that Jewish education at an early age is influenced by the personality and inner world of the preschool teacher and her own connection to Jewish content, irrespective of the educational stream to which the preschool belongs

Short Women’s Prayers in Spoken Ladino During three Times of Crisis

This article discusses a limited number of ritual incantations or short prayers, used by Ladino-speaking women during crises – birth, war, or drought. These prayers, transmitted from one woman to another, were chosen because they are absent from the two major recent books on women’s prayers – Aliza Lavie’s A Jewish Woman’s Prayer Book (2008), which includes women’s prayers from different ethnic communities, some in Ladino, and Ora (Rodrigue) Schwarzwald’s Seder Nashim (2012), prayers from a sixteenth century Ladino prayer book. This article seeks to document those short prayers before they are lost. They are quoted directly from Ladino-speaking informers, and discuss their life experiences, cultural norms, and individual discomforts