An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks with his children on a street in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhood September 24, 2015.. (photo credit: REUTERS)
It is very difficult to discover such a bleak picture with difficult statistics regarding Israel's children, President Reuven Rivlin said upon receiving the annual statistical report on children in Israel from Vered Vindman, director-general of the National Council for the Child.
According to the report, by the end of 2016 there were 2,851,911 children living in Israel, comprising 33% of the population. Between 1970 and 2016 the number of children in Israel nearly doubled, while the number of Muslim children more than tripled.
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The most startling findings in the report pertained to child poverty.
In 2016, 881,369 children were living in poverty– meaning one out of every three children. According to the data, this is a figure that has remained relatively steady for the past decade and reflects more than double the average child poverty rates in the OECD.
The results also showed that in 2016 nearly two out of three ultra-Orthodox children were living in poverty and 62% of Arab children were living below the poverty line.
In 2016 only 11% of poor children were able to escape poverty due to government transfer payments to reduce poverty.
Large gaps were also reported in the geographic dispersal of poverty in Israel, with the Jerusalem district and the North reporting, 53% and 37% of children living in poverty respectively when compared to Tel Aviv, with 19% and the Center district, 14%. “A poor child is a child who goes to bed hungry. He is a child who comes to school without a sandwich. He is a child who finds it difficult to concentrate in school. He is in danger. He is a youth who goes out to work to help support his family, and an adult - who finds it difficult to escape the 'cycle of poverty'. It doesn't matter what his religion is or to what sector he belongs,” Rivlin said.
The annual report comprised of statistics from the Central Bureau of Statistics, government ministries, and non-profit organizations, presented a picture of the state of the child in Israel across a number of aspects including, education, health, poverty, abuse and criminal activity.
“Our job - now - is to act; to do more for the future of our children. To allocate more resources in [the form of] funds and manpower to care for those who comprise more than a third of the State of Israel's population," Rivlin said, "To get to know them better, to protect them more, in all areas, at home, in educational institutions, on the streets and online." Other interesting statistics in the report pertained to Israeli children's use of technology.
The findings indicated that the average age in which children began making online purchases in Israel stood at 13 years old.
Furthermore some 60% of youth aged 7-17 surf the web for more than 4 hours per day.
In an international comparison of 40 countries, Israel was ranked 4th in the percentage of youth aged 11, 13 and 15 who use the computer for four or more hours every day and ranked 2nd among youth who watch television for four or more hours every day.
As such, 90% of Israeli children aged 13-17 are active on WhatsApp, 75% are active on Facebook, and 61% are active on Instagram. The findings also found that Israel ranked first among 40 countries in the percentage of children in the same age group that did not participate in any physical activity for at least 60 minutes during the past week.
The report also highlighted some positive findings, such as an increase in the number of 12th grade students eligible for matriculation certificates and a decrease in the number of students involved in violent incidents.
In response to the statistics, Vindman said that in many aspects childrens' situation in Israel is worsening or at the very least not improving. "This in the rates of unthinkable poverty that have not changed over the last few years, so with the growing rates of children at risk and children who are victims of sexual assaults, and so with the growing inequality among different groups of children," she said.
Vindman called on the government to make the welfare of children a top national priority, something she stated, has unfortunately not been the case to date.