Knowledge

Mazal tov to my colleagues in Myers-JDC-Brookdale, JDC's applied social research center, on their 40th Anniversary.

To celebrate the occasion, they put out this lovely video.

If you support the idea of understanding Israel's pressing social issues, how we can find decent information and research, how we know what we know ... this is a good place to start ...

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Probation

I went to a fascinating meeting the other day in Jerusalem. With several leaders I went to the Juvenile Probation Service (JPS) in the Ministry of Social Affairs. In most countries, probation services are run by the police or courts. But in Israel, the social side is the emphasis. Israel has 240 probation officers, and there are 16,000 new referrals every year ... for 23,000 offenses. JPS is actually one of the oldest social services in Israel - it was set up in 1934 during the British mandate.

My colleagues at the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute have been helping the JPS with empirical data. The Institute profiled the kids, the process, the programs. How do you know when the process is effective? When are the kids deemed 'rehabilitated?'

We met with A., a high-risk young offender. He agreed to join a 'wraparound' program - an intensive case-management process to get him back on track without removing him from the community. "He was lost," his father said. "He didn't know what to do with his life ....now he's learned his risk factors, responsibility, sensibility."

The challenge is how do we help these kind of social services get the most impact with stretched-thin resources. There are complex family and personal backgrounds, dangerous behaviors. And it's not all drug- or violence-related. 40% of the offenses are violent, 20% are property crimes. Only 10% are drug crimes, and 2% are sex-related crimes. So you need facts, knowledge, impact-studies.

I'm proud of my colleagues in Myers-JDC-Brookdale. They are making a major change in how JPS measures outcomes, develops tools to track treatment and understands young offenders. And these kinds of applied research programs make a real impact in people's lives.


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Poor Mermaids

We were in Bat-Yam* the other day learning about issues of poverty. My colleague Jack Habib from Myers-JDC-Brookdale gave a fascinating overview about poverty in Israel.

Bat-Yam has a massively disproportionate level of poverty. So it was an appropriate location to discuss poverty rates and what they mean.

Israel has the highest poverty rate in the West - 25% (1.8m). 36% of all children (860,000) live under the poverty level.

But here's the really fascinating bit: poverty rates differ among different population groups. So 54% of Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox) and 54% of Arab-Israelis are poor. But 39% of Ethiopian-Israelis and 19% of the elderly are classed that way. Among non-Haredi Jews, only 12% are under the poverty line.

So .... the continued growth of Haredim and Arab-Israelis as a percentage of the population, by definition, is going to increase poverty rates in Israel unless we change their employment rates and earnings capacity. It's going to be a national priority. And a Zionist one.

*"Mermaid", or "Daughter of the Sea," or "Daughter of Jerusalem." Depends on which local you believe.

Look into my eyes

When Ethiopian-Israeli kids, who have been brought up in a traditional environment, get to the Army Induction Center (“Bakum”) as they prepare to be drafted …. something really interesting happens.

Ethiopians generally won’t look authority-figures in the eyes, out of respect. 

But if that happens to you when you’re facing an Inductions Officer (קצין מיון) then you’re in big trouble … because the first thing the officer will think is, 'this recruit has no self-confidence.'
Suddenly, in an instant, your hopes of going to officer course, of being an instructor … of getting any decent military profession are gone. 
And if that chance is gone, you stand much less of a chance of getting ahead in civilian life too.

So one of the cultural challenges we deal with in programs like Springboard – an amazing program I saw recently in Israel, which prepares young Ethiopian-Israelis for army service and successful integration into post-army civilian life – is the soft skills, the cultural skills. 
It’s not just about battling inequality and lack of education (even though these are critical). 

It’s also about changing hearts and minds. 

And not just the hearts and minds of the new recruits and their parents. It’s also about changing the attitudes and perspectives of veteran Israelis: to understand the cultural norms and expectations of everyone they speak with. 

To be respectful. 

To be kind.

My colleagues at our micro-economic research institute, Myers-JDC-Brookdale, have done some terrific work examining these kinds of issues. They've just put out a fascinating research paper on culturally-fair employment screening methods and their implications. You can read the summary here, and the executive summary here. And if your Hebrew is really good, you can read the whole thing here. 

More on Israeli women

I've looked in the past at challenges faced by disadvantaged women in Israel. It's a really important issue, and not one that's given enough time and focus.

One of the key areas where you can see the challenge is in the field of employment ...

Here's the problem: disadvantaged groups face lots of barriers on the road to employment:
They tend to have very large families, there are often cultural barriers to employment. there are issues of stereotypes and discrimination. Many of these groups have lower education and all kinds of language barriers. They often have much less access to employment opportunities

So how are we doing? It's a mixed story ....

 In 2009-10, 61% of Haredi women worked, significantly up from 47% in 2009-10.

 The most dramatic growth has been with the employment of Ethiopian-Israeli women. In 2001, only 30% of Ethiopian-Israeli women were employed. By 2010, the rate more than doubled to 62%.

 Even among those with less than 12 years of education, employment rose from 26% to 46%.

 The low levels of education of Ethiopians contribute to a very large gap in average monthly earnings - 4,000 NIS compared with 6,400 NIS for all Jewish women.

 Arab-Israeli women face the biggest employment barriers, with only 26% of 25-64 years olds employed in 2009-10, up from 19% in 2001.

 36% of employed Arab-Israeli women work part time, most of whom cannot find full-time employment.

 By contrast, employment gaps are very small for women with academic degrees: 77% for Arab-Israeli women and 83% for Jewish women.

If you want more information and sources on these findings, message me, or contact my colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale. If you want to receive this blog on a regular basis by email (about twice a week, depending on what else I'm up to), sign up in the top-right box where it says "follow" ...

The Poverty Level

My colleagues at the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Research Institute have some fascinating information on what poverty actually looks like across different sectors in Israel.

Here's what I think is really striking:

First, although only 14% of Jewish households are under the poverty line .... well over half of non-Jewish households are under it.

And second, poverty and employment are very tightly correlated. More on this later....

The poverty line is defined as 50% of the after-tax median income, adjusted to household size. 
The monthly poverty line for a couple last year was 4,001 NIS or 1,118 USD. The monthly poverty rate for a couple with two children was 6,401 NIS or 1,788 USD.


If you want more information and sources on these findings, message me, or contact my colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale. If you want to receive this blog on a regular basis by email (about twice a week, depending on what else I'm up to), sign up in the top-right box where it says "follow" ...

Haredi Poverty and Employment

My colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale have done some fascinating research into Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) families in Israel, and the connection to poverty.

These are some of the really interesting bits (ok, it's all interesting)

 In 2011, 54% of Haredi families were poor.

 The high rate of poverty is very strongly related to low rates of employment.

 Poverty rates are also related to low earnings. There's a significant gap in monthly earnings:
Haredi men: 6,600 NIS vs. 11,500 NIS for all men
Haredi women: 5,200 NIS vs. 7,300 NIS for all women

 Therefore, education and training are critical to narrowing these wage gaps.

 The large numbers of children to support is a further factor contributing to the high rates of poverty

Look at this chart for the difference ....

If you want more information and sources on these findings, message me, or contact my colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale. If you want to receive this blog on a regular basis by email (about twice a week, depending on what else I'm up to), sign up in the top-right box where it says "follow" ...

It's Getting Worse

Poverty rates in Israel are getting worse, according to my colleagues at the JDC-Myers-Brookdale Institute.

In 2011, there were 442,200 poor families in Israel (20% of all families), encompassing 1,838,600 persons (25% of all persons), of whom 860,900 were children (36% of all children).
50% of the poor families are working poor.

What this means is that there's been an increase from ten years ago, when there were 318,900 poor families in Israel (18% of all families), encompassing 1,169,000 persons (19% of all persons), of whom 530,700 were children (25% of all children).

The most dramatic increase was in the rate of children living in poor families, which rose from 25% in 2001 to 36% in 2011.

The rate of poverty among families in Israel is the second highest among OECD countries and is almost double that of the OECD average.

There are also regions that are particularly poor. The rate of poverty among persons is highest in the Jerusalem district (46%) and the Northern district (37%), but is much lower in the Southern district (26%) and the Central district (13%).

If we don't solve this, the peace process won't matter anyway.
This is also an existential threat to the future.


If you want more information and sources on these findings, message me, or contact my colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale. If you want to receive this blog on a regular basis by email (about twice a week, depending on what else I'm up to), sign up in the top-right box where it says "follow" ...

Israeli women

You would think, with a casual glance at the international comparisons, that Israel is doing great when it comes to the status of women. On issues like education and employment, the base lines look favorable. For example ...

51% of Israeli women ages 25 to 34 have at least a post-secondary education, compared with 42% of other western countries.

57% of Israeli women ages 15 to 64 are employed, on par with the average for other western countries.


And yet .... behind these averages lies a very different picture.
For some of our discussions we've been looking at two areas in particular, education and employment.

In the field of education, there are some really significant gaps in the education of disadvantaged women, even though there's been a lot of progress:

(1) In 2010, 59% of Ethiopian women and 41% of Arab-Israel women didn't complete high school, compared with only 5% of all Jewish women.
Many of these women hadn't even finished 8th grade.

(2) In 2010, Ethiopian and Arab-Israeli women had much lower rates than Jewish Israelis for getting secondary degrees: 20% for Ethiopians and 32% for Arab-Israelis, compared with 67% of all Jews. (Although you should note that both Ethiopians and Arab-Israeli women made considerable progress between 2001 and 2010—from 12% to 20% for Ethiopians, and 18% to 32% for Arab-Israelis).

(3) Passing Matriculation exams: Among recent high school graduates, the gaps are declining further. In 2009-10, 43% of Arab-Israeli 12th-grade girls and 35% for Ethiopian 12th-grade girls scored high enough on their matriculation exams to meet university entrance requirements, compared with 65% of all Jewish 12th-grade girls.

Girls from all groups are outperforming boys, particularly among the disadvantaged groups. The matriculation rates among boys were 28% for Arab-Israelis and 18% for Ethiopians, compared with 58% for all Jews.

If you want more information and sources on these findings, message me, or contact my colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale. If you want to receive this blog on a regular basis by email (about twice a week, depending on what else I'm up to), sign up in the top-right box where it says "follow" ...

The Disabled in Israel ... the implications

I want to add a few more thoughts from an earlier post about the Disabled in Israel.

There are some serious implications about these high rates, and what they mean not just on an individual level, but as a reflection of what our social priorities are.

Here are four of the findings from the research done by my colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale:


First, many of the disabled do have social networks, but they also have higher rates of isolation 
 14% of all working-age adults with disabilities and 25% of those with severe disabilities report frequent feelings of loneliness, compared with only 4% of people without disabilities.
 26% of people with severe disabilities report having no friends, compared with 7% of people without disabilities.

Second, many have achieved higher education, but at much lower rates than adults without disabilities 
 46% of all working-age adults with disabilities, and 34% of working-age adults with severe disabilities, have received a high-school matriculation certificate, compared with 64% of adults without disabilities.
 Only 20% of adults with severe disabilities have post-secondary education, compared with 38% of adults without disabilities.

Third, about half of working-age adults with disabilities work, but many more want to 
 52% of working-age adults with disabilities and 32% of people with severe disabilities are employed, compared with 74% in the general working-age adult population.
 Of those working-age adults with disabilities who are not working, 45% are looking for work or are ready to begin work immediately if they were offered a job.
 Satisfaction is high with the type of work and with work colleagues, but far less so with wages and prospects for advancement.

And finally - and maybe most importantly - the disabled face significantly greater economic hardships 
 Adults with disabilities who work earn an average gross monthly wage of NIS 6,361, and adults with severe disabilities earn a monthly average of NIS 5,000. This is compared with NIS 8,201 for people with no disabilities.
 Only 34% of working-age adults with severe disabilities report being able to meet monthly household expenses, compared with 64% of adults without disabilities.
 24% of working-age adults with disabilities did not buy necessary medicine because of the cost, compared with 10% of adults without disabilities.

If you want more information and sources on these findings, message me, or contact my colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale. If you want to receive this blog on a regular basis by email (about twice a week, depending on what else I'm up to), sign up in the top-right box where it says "follow" ...

The Disabled in Israel

There's been a lot of misinformation about the situation of the disabled in Israel. My colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale have done some interesting research into what the integration looks like, and where the challenges are.

There are some really fascinating and important findings in their research. First and foremost ... there's a significant percent of the population living with disabilities: 

 About a million Israelis (a quarter of the working-age population), have at least one disability, and almost half of those have more than one disability. The rates of disability are much higher for Arab-Israelis and Ethiopian-Israelis.

 19% of the working-age population have a moderate-to-severe disability and 6% a mild disability.

 Over 260,000 individuals receive some type of disability pension from the Social Security Institute, and the numbers have been growing rapidly. Another 50,000 people receive disability allowances from the Israel Defense Forces. 200,000 receive other forms of on-going income support.

 Disabilities are associated with complex health challenges: Diabetes is 3 times greater and high blood pressure is 2 times greater among working-age adults with disabilities than among the general population.

 About 40% of working-age adults with disabilities have children under age 18, and 20% have children under age 10.


Second, about 200,000 children (8% of all children) have a disability, and 40% of these have multiple disabilities 

 About 18% of families have a child with a disability.

 Children with disabilities are over-represented among children at risk. One-third of all children identified by programs for children at risk have some type of disability.

 More than 154,000 children with recognized disabilities are in the education system (from pre-school to high school).
85% attend regular schools, expanding opportunities for students but presenting challenges for the schools.


Third, there's a growing recognition of need to focus attention on young adults with disabilities 

 Almost 40% of young adults who are not working or studying have a disability!

If you want more information and sources on these findings, message me, or contact my colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale. If you want to receive this blog on a regular basis by email (about twice a week, depending on what else I'm up to), sign up in the top-right box where it says "follow" ...

Do Israelis Donate?

This is a really good question, and it's one I get asked a lot when I visit federations.

My colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale have done some really interesting research on this, and some of their findings are fascinating. For example:

A significant percent of Israelis have donated in the last 12 months to institutions or individuals beyond friends and family 
 68% of people age 20 or older reported donating.
 72% of the 50-54 age group reported donating, making them the age group in which donations are most common. At least 52% of all other groups over age 20 reported making donations.

A majority of respondents in all income levels reported donating, although the percentage and amounts increase with income 
 The percentage of people who donate rises with income from 64% in the lowest income level to 85% in the highest income level.

Rate of donors varies among social groups 
 Rates of donation are somewhat lower among immigrants born in the former Soviet Union, and even more so among Arab-Israelis.

Donation amounts vary widely 
 68% of donors reported donating up to 500 NIS, while 17% reported donating above 1,000 NIS.
 56% of donors in lower-income levels (income up to 2,000 NIS per month) reported donating up to 100 NIS a year.
 34% of donors in higher-income levels (income above 21,000 NIS per month) reported donating over 1,000 NIS a year.



If you want more information and sources on these findings, message me, or contact my colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale. If you want to receive this blog on a regular basis by email (about twice a week, depending on what else I'm up to), sign up in the top-right box where it says "follow" ...

The Haredim, Employment and the Future

There's a lot of misinformation about the Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) sector in Israel. My colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale have done some fascinating research on the sector and its impact in Israeli society.

There are about 830,000 Haredim in Israel, representing 11% of the total population.

 The percentage of Haredim in the overall population will increase to 18% by 2030.
 The percentage of Haredim in the working-age population (25-64) will increase from 7% to 12% by 2030.

Here's what surprises many people: employment rates among Haredi men and women have been increasing steadily over the past decade. 
 For men, rates have increased from 36% in 2003 to 46% in 2011, but remain far below the rates for all
Jewish men (78%).
 For women, rates have increased from 50% in 2003 to 61% in 2011, and are approaching the rates of all
Jewish women (66%).

Several studies have examined the experiences of Haredim on the job. They find that:

 There is low turnover.
 Job satisfaction is higher than that of the general population.
 The vast majority feel that they receive equal treatment from their employers.
 Very few men believe that their community status has been negatively affected by the fact that they work.
 Studies of employers show that they consider Haredi workers to be equal to and often even better than, non-Haredi workers in terms of performance and productivity.


If you want more information and sources on these findings, message me, or contact my colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale. If you want to receive this blog on a regular basis by email (about twice a week, depending on what else I'm up to), sign up in the top-right box where it says "follow" ...

Israeli Society

I'm here in Israel with the first-ever mission of the Farash Foundation. In a packed itinerary, we’re experiencing the challenges and horizons of Israel, and the work of the Joint.

One of our most impressive meetings was an introduction to Israeli society and its challenges by Professor Jack Habib, Director of Myers-JDC-Brookdale, our foremost applied-social research institute.

Jack gave a superb overview of the challenges that Israel faces, which in some ways are even more striking than any other country:

(1)   huge immigration, per capita more than any other country

(2)   massive cultural diversity

(3)   and huge diversity in social capital, wide gaps and inequality.

From 1948, with two populations (Ashkenazi-Sephardi) widely different in their education, culture, understandings, then absorbing an immigrant population and doubling the size of the State in two years … to 1990, when 5 million Israelis absorbed a million Russian speakers in less than ten years. The challenges have been immense. But we shouldn’t forget the successes.

In 1992, at the height of immigration, unemployment in Israel was 25%

Just four years later, it had dropped to 6%.

When we invest in immigrants, we get great results.