Poverty

Millions of Israelis, including 900,000 children, live in poverty, NII report for 2024 shows

Poverty rates remain especially high among Arab and haredi populations, who together account for 65.1% of people in poverty, nearly double their share of the population.

|ByAVIHAI CHIIM
ABOUT 41% of Jerusalem families suffer from poverty, compared to about 20% in the rest of the country.
People walk past a sign at a currency exchange as the value of the Iranian Rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, February 9, 2025

Iran’s rial hits historic low: Over 1.5 million rials to a dollar

Essentials such as food, medicine, and clothing have become increasingly unaffordable, while the minimum monthly wage has fallen to roughly $100.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
People walk past stores as the value of the Iranian Rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, December 30, 2025.

‘Refrigerators are empty’: Iran protests spark civilian cries for regime collapse - interview

“Refrigerators are empty. Pockets are empty. Every day, people see themselves becoming poorer," one protester told The Jerusalem Post.

|ByAMICHAI STEIN
ABOUT 41% of Jerusalem families suffer from poverty, compared to about 20% in the rest of the country.

Growing class of 'war poor' Israelis pushed into poverty post-October 7, report warns

The report depicts a deepening social emergency in which hunger and chronic financial stress are spreading from Israel’s weakest populations into the lower middle class.

|BySARAH BEN-NUN

Israel ranks low in OECD children’s poverty standings

The study was carried out by Jerusalem’s Taub Center for Social Policy Studies.

DECEMBER 20, 2023ByJUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish family performs the Kaparot ritual in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhood, September 20, 2015

B'ezri: Commitment to combat poverty - opinion

For more than 40 years, American Friends of Yad Eliezer has provided a safety net for tens of thousands of families in some 50 communities across Israel.

DECEMBER 17, 2023BySORI TROPPER
Children visit a makeshift memorial in Ofakim, where B'ezri is providing assistance to those in greatest need in the aftermath of the loss of 50 community members who gave their lives in defense of the city.

WATCH: A Pitchon-Lev volunteer tells her story

American volunteer Drea Rice speaks with Maayan Hoffman, Deputy CEO - Strategy and innovation for the Jerusalem Post, about her work with Pitchon-Lev.

DECEMBER 14, 2023ByALAN ROSENBAUM
American Volunteer Drea Rice

IDF: Hamas officials keeping Gazans in poverty, suffering

Following the IDF's invasion, it has been discovered that Hamas has been hoarding wealth away from Gazans living in poverty.

DECEMBER 7, 2023ByYONAH JEREMY BOB
Palestinians gather to collect water, amid shortages of drinking water, as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip October 15, 2023.

Pitchon-Lev - Israel's beating heart in peace and in war

WATCH: Eli Cohen, CEO of Pitchon-Lev, one of Israel’s foremost humanitarian organizations in conversation with Maayan Hoffman, Deputy CEO - Strategy & Innovation for the Jerusalem Post.

DECEMBER 7, 2023ByALAN ROSENBAUM
Eli Cohen, CEO, Pithon-Lev

Pitchon Lev CEO calls for price controls in face of rising food prices

Among those affected are impoverished families, whose struggles have only increased since the beginning of the conflict.

OCTOBER 31, 2023ByZACHY HENNESSEY
CEO of Pitchon Lev Eli Cohen

Poor and working-class Jews are underrepresented in pop culture, new analysis argues

TEN estimates that one in five Jewish American households earn less than $50,000 a year.

OCTOBER 3, 2023ByANDREW LAPIN/JTA
Homeless person on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem.