- Title: Israel's economy struggles to engage Orthodox and Arab workers
- Date: 19th July 2017
- Summary: EL ATRASH, ISRAEL (RECENT) (REUTERS) OUTSKIRTS OF BEDOUIN VILLAGE YOUTH WALKING BAREFOOT SHACKS IN VILLAGE LAUNDRY HANGING CHILDREN PLAYING OUTSIDE SHACK BEDOUIN WOMAN IN KITCHEN VARIOUS OF WOMAN COOKING KITCHEN VIEW ELDERLY WOMAN TAKING DOWN LAUNDRY OUTSKIRTS OF BEDOUIN VILLAGE SHACKS SALMA EL ATRASH, A FATHER OF 10 FROM EL-ATRASH (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) SALMA EL ATRASH, A FATHER OF 10 FROM EL-ATRASH, SAYING: "We are at the bottom of the economic ladder in Israel, the most impoverished villages in Israel are the Bedouin villages and the state does not care about the Bedouin community, it does not invest in education, industry, unemployment, not in health nor infrastructure". TRASH PILED UP IN VILLAGE GV'S OF VILLAGE TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (RECENT) (REUTERS) TEL AVIV SKYLINE TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY ECONOMIST DAN BEN-DAVID, FOUNDER OF THE SHORESH INSTITUTION FOR SOCIOECONOMIC RESEARCH, SITTING AT DESK MONITOR SHOWING GRAPH OF LABOR PRODUCTIVITY, 1970-2015 (SOUNDBITE) (English) TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY ECONOMIST DAN BEN-DAVID, FOUNDER OF THE SHORESH INSTITUTION FOR SOCIOECONOMIC RESEARCH, SAYING: "These two populations and additional ones which we call part of our social and geographic periphery are not receiving either the tools or conditions to work in a modern economy. These populations are not only big they're getting larger so when we look at productivity in Israel it is very low compared to the developed world". BEN-DAVID (SOUNDBITE) (English) TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY ECONOMIST DAN BEN-DAVID, FOUNDER OF THE SHORESH INSTITUTION FOR SOCIOECONOMIC RESEARCH, SAYING: "It's like two countries in one, one part of the country is a startup nation, the universities, the Hi Tech and so on but then you have the other part that's not receiving the tools and conditions to work in a modern economy and it's like a drag, it's like a big weight pulling everything down, if we don't deal with it, it's going to get worse, worse means that we're going to have a problem funding this". BEN DAVID'S EYES (SOUNDBITE) (English) TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY ECONOMIST DAN BEN-DAVID, FOUNDER OF THE SHORESH INSTITUTION FOR SOCIOECONOMIC RESEARCH, SAYING: "The knowledge is here, the ideas are here, money is flowing here and we can find a majority in the Knesset to change the direction that will not be forever. In a few years’ time, maybe a decade, maybe a little more than a decade, we're passed a point of no return and the trajectory that we're currently on is simply unsustainable, we need to get our act together". RAHAT, ISRAEL (RECENT) (REUTERS) MINARETS IN RAHAT'S CITY CENTER ISRAELI ARAB WOMAN WALKING THROUGH STREETS EXTERIOR OF RAHAT MUNICIPALITY BUILDING TALAL AL-KRENAWI, MAYOR OF RAHAT, AT DESK (SOUNDITE) (Hebrew) TALAL AL-KRENAWI, MAYOR OF RAHAT, SAYING: "Our economic situation is very difficult, that of course does not contribute to Israel's economy and if the state of Israel wants and is capable - the question is if it wants - us to be part of the GDP, that produces and contributes, it needs to think differently and invest differently, both in planning the villages and integrating the populations in the workforce, good education, a sufficient level of education". VIEW OF RAHAT
- Embargoed: 2nd August 2017 09:53
- Keywords: Israel economy Jewish Orthodox Arabs Bedouins
- Location: BNEI BRAK, EL ATRASH, TEL AVIV, RAHAT, ISRAEL
- City: BNEI BRAK, EL ATRASH, TEL AVIV, RAHAT, ISRAEL
- Country: Israel
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0026QDV53H
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Chaim Rachmani, a young ultra-Orthodox Jew who wears a smart pinstripped suit, spends his days learning Talmud in Bnei Brak, whose crowded streets and narrow allies brush up against the high-tech towers of Tel Aviv.
He has no plans to venture beyond the walls of his yeshiva and work. His newlywed bride supports him with her entry level computer job at Intel Corp <INTC.O> while he receives a $500 a month stipend for studying religious texts.
Rachmani graduated from Maoz Hatorah, an all-boys school for children ages 3-15 founded by Rabbi Assaf Avitan. It teaches some reading and writing in Hebrew and basic arithmetic but most of the school day is devoted to religious studies.
And therein lies a major problem for the long-term health of Israel's $300 billion economy since ultra-Orthodox are forecast to become a third of the population in 2065, up from 11 percent now.
Economists say the country is at a critical juncture and must take steps to change its national priorities by investing in infrastructure, strengthening the education system and integrating the ultra-orthodox and Arabs into the workforce.
Much of the problem stems from low state spending on the ultra-Orthodox and Arab sectors, particularly in education. Arabs make up 21 percent of Israel's 8.7 million population and its percentage is expected to remain steady.
The problem is particularly acute among the 260,000 Bedouin scattered throughout the southern Negev desert.
Israel's labour productivity is now below that of most OECD countries. In 2015, GDP per hour worked in the United States reached $68, two-thirds more than in Israel.
Improving productivity requires investment in human and physical capital as well as increased competition and a reduction in monopolies. A key area is transportation infrastructure, where investment has lagged. Road congestion is over three times that of Europe's smaller countries even though the number of cars per capita is low.
As Israel's labour productivity falls behind those of the world's leading economies, the disparity between what an employed person can attain in Israel and other countries widens. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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