Israel: Social Problems to Social Welfare, Poverty and the Interaction with Religion

Israel: social problems to social welfare, poverty and the interaction with religion Israel is located in the Middle East, on the south eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Today Israel includes two distinct nationalities: the Jews and the Palestinian Arabs. Judaism is the official Israeli religion and consists of the majority of the population. Islamic religion consists of the minority of the population. Both the people of these nationalities are extremely involved and unable to escape their religious identities causing antagonistic conflict between the two. The conflict between the Jewish Israeli and the Palestinian Israeli plays a factor into Israel’s social problems such as: social welfare, economic decline, social stratification, and poverty. The Primary religion in Israel is Judaism. The basic laws and tenets of Judaism come from the first five books of the Bible, the torah. The torah teaches that there is one God who is supreme and good ("Israel ministry of," 2008). However unlike Christians, the Jews reject the belief that Jesus is the messiah. At the core of their religion, Jews hold on to the hope that the true messiah will come and deliver Israel. They base their lively hood on this belief and it affects all aspects of their life. Jewish ethics stress public and personal morality and charity towards all people. For example, the torah teaches that “all people are created in the image of God and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect” (“Israel ministry of, 2008). Jewish beliefs affect how the poor are looked at and affects what opportunities open up to them in Israeli society. Jews make up 75.4% of the population. Muslims make up 20.6% and Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, or unspecified make up 4% of the population (Fisher, 2012). Israel does not recognize an official state language, but Judaism does plays a major role in Israeli politics. The relationship between religiosity and political ideology effect legal obedience in Israel. Meaning that there is separation between church and state (Yagil and Rattner, 2002, p.185). However, orthodox Jews will obey their religious laws over legal state laws (p.186). “Judaism contains a comprehensive set of rules, which, for the orthodox, dictate behavior is every aspect of daily life. State laws, which often reflect the values of the secular majority, often stand in contradiction to religious laws” (p. 205). Followers of the ultra-orthodox tend to engage in violet demonstrations to show dominance of their religion. This has caused controversy among the other nationalities and tensions spread through all aspects of society. For example, religious practices influence the education system, influences the way ethnic groups are dealt with, and how political debate is conducted (Stanford, 2007). Another problem involves a political and nationalist movement to re-establish and recognized the home of the Jewish people in the geographic region of ancient Israel (Ziadise, Canetti-Nisim & Pedahzur, 2007, p. 500-501). The Jewish people want Israel to be recognized as a Jewish state and they are trying to push for that finalization, causing conflict with the other residing religions, such as the Palestinians who also believe Israel is rightfully theirs. “For Israel to maintain its Jewish identity, it must maintain a Jewish majority. Arabs’ high fertility rate is perceived by some as a “demographic threat” and Jewish immigration as a demographic defense against it” (Lewin & Stier, 2002, p. 493). Researchers studies show that the on going tension between the Jews and Palestinians in Israel is taking a toll on the economic growth of the country. A declining economy leads to other social problems like poverty, socioeconomic class hierarchal, and a large amount of the population relying on welfare, which further declines the economy. There is “mistrust and conflict between Israel majority (Jews) and Israel minority (Palestinians/Arabs) that is effecting economic growth” (Malul, Rosenboim & Shavit, 2010). The effect of mistrust leads to social issues in insufficient resource distribution, which in turn produces low economic growth (Malul, Rosenboim & Shavit, 2010). Both have non-negotiable viewpoint of who’s right and there for, talks between the two have been unsuccessful. According to the National Insurance Institute of Israel, 20% of Israeli households were reported as poor in 2005. “Israel’s official poverty line is defined as half the median disposable income of all households. The poverty line is adjusted by household size, using an equivalency scale granting diminishing weights for each additional household member” (Lewin & Stier, 2002, p.494). The poor in Israel consist mostly of the ultra orthodox Jews and Palestinians. The Palestinians face poverty due to social class. They live in small villages and tend to have larger families then that of the secular Jews and other nationalities. “Arabs are overrepresented among the poor due to their large families, low levels of education, and low rates of female labor force participation” (Lewin & Stier, 2002, p. 491-492). They seem to conjugate in parts of Israel with low economic opportunities and relatively low government investment. All these components facilitate to the high levels of low economic status and poverty among the Palestinian Arabs. The Ultra orthodox Jews at times choose not to work because of their religious beliefs (Yagil & Rattner, 2002, p.205). There own religious policies are what’s keeping them in poverty. Although they have high fertility rates and education and high levels of education, 62% of their males do not participate in the labor force (Lewin & Stier, 2002, p.492). Ultra orthodox Jews are given government assistance because they cannot work due to the strict content of their religion. For people in poverty, Israel offers government assistance through welfare plans such as social security, unemployment, and pensions for the elderly, maternity insurance, workers ' compensation, and allowances for large families. “Certain welfare programs, especially those whose benefit levels are determined by work status, have been critiqued in that they indirectly provide different benefits by gender and race due to the relationship between work status, gender, and race” (p.490). However, Israel is a thriving country and has one of the highest life expectancy ratings (p.489-494). “Israeli welfare policy is effective in reducing poverty, though its effect differs substantially by group membership” (p.501). Although, there are some biases, overall the welfare policy attempts to reduce inequality and poverty by transferring income from the wealthy to the poor. Israel is doing a steady job in trying to accommodate and benefit the population as a whole. Israeli beliefs and principles as a society are reflected in how the country is run. They allow certain groups such as ultra orthodox Jews not to work due to Jewish teachings and allow many of their own religious beliefs make there way into the law of the state. Non Jewish Israelis have to follow these laws regardless of their own beliefs. Israel’s religious views are deep rooted into the culture. The religion molds Israel’s citizen’s perception of things such as poverty, domestic home life, and the countries moral views as a whole. The strong presence of religion in the government effects how the country is run. The economy, state laws and political ideologies are all influenced by the Jewish religion. When a country involves religion in their political agenda it can blur the line of the separation between church and state. In the case of Israel the religions influence has helped the Jews stay unified but has made the country suffer economically due to Jewish law outweighing state law. Religion does have place in the government but there also has to be a line that allows everyone to be equal in the eyes of the law. When religion is so deeply rooted in government both the government views and the religious views become corrupted. The government’s actions tend to taint the religion and as a result wars happen in the name of religion, thus giving religion a bad reputation due to mans own corruption.

References
Fisher, G. (2012, December 30). The times of Israel. Retrieved from http://www.timesofisrael.com/on-eve-of-2013-israels-population-stands-at-cusp-of-8-million/

Israel ministry of foreign affairs. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts About Israel/Spotlight on Israel/About the Jewish Religion.htm

Lewin, A., Stier, H., &, (2002). Who benefits the most? The unequal allocation of transfers in the Israeli welfare state. 83 (2), 488-503. Achieved from Academic Search Premier

Malul, M., Rosenboim, M., & Shavit, T. (n.d.). Costs of mistrust between ethnic majority and minorities: Evidence from Israel. (2010). REVIEW OF SOCIAL ECONOMY, 36(4), 447-464. Retried from Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) database

Stanford, E. (2007). Culture of Israel. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Israel.html

Yagil, D., & Rattner, A. (2002). Between commandments and laws: Religiosity, political ideology, and legal obedience in Israel. 38(2), 185-209. Achieved from Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) database

Ziadise. , Canetti-Nisim, D., & Pedahzur, A. (2007). Politics of god or politics of man? The role of religion and deprivation in predicting support for political violence in Israel. 55(3). Achieved from Academic Search Premier database

References: Fisher, G. (2012, December 30). The times of Israel. Retrieved from http://www.timesofisrael.com/on-eve-of-2013-israels-population-stands-at-cusp-of-8-million/ Israel ministry of foreign affairs. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts About Israel/Spotlight on Israel/About the Jewish Religion.htm Lewin, A., Stier, H., &, (2002). Who benefits the most? The unequal allocation of transfers in the Israeli welfare state. 83 (2), 488-503. Achieved from Academic Search Premier Malul, M., Rosenboim, M., & Shavit, T. (n.d.). Costs of mistrust between ethnic majority and minorities: Evidence from Israel. (2010). REVIEW OF SOCIAL ECONOMY, 36(4), 447-464. Retried from Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) database Stanford, E. (2007). Culture of Israel. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Israel.html Yagil, D., & Rattner, A. (2002). Between commandments and laws: Religiosity, political ideology, and legal obedience in Israel. 38(2), 185-209. Achieved from Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) database Ziadise. , Canetti-Nisim, D., & Pedahzur, A. (2007). Politics of god or politics of man? The role of religion and deprivation in predicting support for political violence in Israel. 55(3). Achieved from Academic Search Premier database