REGIMEN GENERAL

According to the 2006-07 poverty index published by the National Insurance Institute (NII) almost a quarter (24.7 per cent) of Israel’s total population live under the poverty line.15 In 2006, the NII determined that the poverty line be set for those individuals who earn less than

15

See: NII (2008).

23,124 Israeli shekels (less than £4,000 GBP according to 2008 foreign exchange rates) per year. The report also indicates that, in the same period, over a third of all Israeli children (or 35.9 per cent), numbering 805 thousand children in all, were living under the poverty line. However, there is a significant gap between the poverty rates experienced by Israel’s Jewish and “non- Jewish” (or Palestinian Arab) families, and the alleviation of these poverty rates by state welfare contributions. While the poverty rate experienced by Jews in Israel before welfare payments is 28.7 per cent, welfare contributions reduced that figure by nearly half to 15.2 per cent. The poverty rate experienced by “non-Jewish” families, however, is reduced by only 6 per cent from 61.3 per cent to 54.8 per cent through welfare injections, thus indicating that over half the Palestinian Arab households, or over 149 thousand families, in Israel live under the poverty line, thus representing one of the largest “poverty pockets” in Israel. Significantly, the Northern District is, after Jerusalem, the poorest district in the country.

Neither the NII nor the CBS distinguishes its data on income or poverty according to religious groupings, so it is not possible to determine the Palestinian Christian poverty rate compared with other population groups. However, other sources of information do exist which may provide a good indication of the socio-economic status of Palestinian Christians in Israel. The Alternative Centre for Arab Planning (ACAP) compiles a database mapping a range of economic and demographic indicators particular to local Arab municipalities and towns in Israel which it releases to the public each year. It is interesting to note from the information provided in Table 6 below that the socio-economic levels of Arab localities with either a Palestinian Christian majority or a significant Palestinian Christian population (all of which are located in the Northern District) fall, on average, between the third and fourth lowest socio-economic levels in Israel. As the average socio-economic standing of all Arab localities in the Northern District is three, this indicates that the socio-economic reality of villages with Palestinian Christian populations is much the same as other villages and towns. Indeed, the Arab village of Kfar Kanna and the Arab city of Sakhnin, both of which have significant Palestinian Christian minorities, have the very poor socio-economic ranking of 2, thereby suffering conditions of extreme deprivation relative to the rest of the country. The exception to the generally poor socio-economic standing of Arab villages and towns with significant Palestinian Christian populations is the village of Mailiya in the north. This village, which has a socio-economic ranking of 6, is both the richest Palestinian Christian locality in Israel and the richest Arab 59

locality in the entire Northern District. Similarly, the Arab village of Jish, with its Palestinian Christian majority population, has a higher socio-economic standing than the Arab average for this region. However, Nazareth – the largest Arab city in Israel and the city with the largest Palestinian Christian minority – has a socio-economic ranking of only 4. Although this ranking places it one level above the regional average for Arab localities, it falls well below the national average for Jewish localities. Only one other Arab city, Tire, which is an entirely Muslim city located in Israel’s Central District, has a similar ranking.

In terms of the average monthly salary of an individual living in any one of the Arab localities possessing either a Palestinian Christian majority or a significant Palestinian Christian minority, Table 6 indicates the relative deprivation and poverty of this community. The average monthly salary of individuals from a locality possessing either a majority or a significant minority of Palestinian Christians was only 4,154 shekels (or GBP £640). This figure is only around 240 shekels (GBP £37) higher than the average recorded annual salary of Arab localities in the Northern District.

According to the CBS, the unemployment rate experienced by Israel’s Jewish population in 2007 was 6.8 per cent while the unemployment rate for the Palestinian Arab population was 10.9 cent. Although the CBS does not provide a further breakdown of this figure by religious group, the 2006 Sabeel Survey on Palestinian Christians in the West Bank and Israel indicates that the Palestinian Christian unemployment rate in Israel is 6.3 per cent, thus falling slightly below the Jewish national average.

Information on the various sectors of the economy in which the Palestinian Arab workforce are concentrated is also useful. The most significant areas of employment are: the construction sector, followed by education and, then, by the areas of wholesale and retail trade. This is compared with Jewish concentrations in manufacturing, business activities, education and wholesale and retail trading. The sectors which represent a relatively stronger representation of Palestinian Arabs than Jews are those of construction, agriculture, accommodation services and restaurants and education.

Table 6: Socio-Economic Ranking and Average Individual Salary by Locality (End of 2007) Total Pop % Palestinian Christian Socio-Economic Level Average Monthly Salary (NIS) Christian-only villages Fassouta 2,942 100% 4 4,356 Mailiya 2,720 100% 6 5,521

Mixed Arab villages with a Christian majority

Kfar Yasif 8,491 57% 4 4,029

Rameh 7,591 51% 4 4,494

Eilaboun 4,676 70% 4 4,411

Jish (Gush Halav) 2,700 ?? 5 4,811

Mixed Arab towns with a significant Christian minority

Mughar 19,305 20% 3 3,786 Kfar Kanna 18,460 16.5% 2 3,383 Yaffa an-Nasariyye 17,171 30% 3 3,944 Reine 16,686 19.3% 3 3,818 Abu Snan 11,746 18.9% 3 3,814 Ibillin 11,186 48.9% 3 4,008

Arab Cities with a significant Christian minority

Nazareth 65,541 30% 4 4,133

Shfar’amr 34,123 27.5% 3 4,127

Sakhnin 25,055 ?? 2 3,668

“Mixed Cities” with a significant Christian minority

Maalot-Tarshiha 21,235 9.9% 4 5,135 Natzeret Illit 43,082 6.7% 5 4,727 Akka 45,980 ?? 4 4,440 Ramle 64,900 4% 4 4,656 Lod 67,033 1.1% 4 5,019 Haifa 264,942 6% 7 7,007 Tel Aviv-Yaffa 378,902 1.4% 8 7,700

The data has been collected from the 2008 Database on Local Arab Municipalities and Towns in Israel compiled by the Arab Centre for Alternative Planning (ACAP).

The Socio-Economic Level of localities ranges between 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest possible level. The ranking system followed here was devised by the Israeli authorities.

NIS relates to the Israeli currency, the New Israeli Shekel.

Table 7: Employment by Sector (End of 2008)

% of Employees

Jews Palestinian Arabs

Services for households by domestic personnel 1.8 0.3

Community, social and personal services 5.0 3.2

Health, welfare and social work services 10.4 6.8

Education 12.7 14.3

Public Administration 5.2 2.5

Business Activities 15.3 6.4

Banking, insurance and finance 4.1 0.6

Transport, storage and communications 6.5 5.6

Accommodation services and restaurants 4.6 5.8

Wholesale and retail trade, and repairs 13.3 16.8

Construction (building and civil engineering projects) 3.5 19.0

Electricity and water supply 0.8 0.4

Manufacturing 15.3 14.6

Agriculture 1.5 3.3

The data presented here has been collected from the CBS Statistical Abstract of Israel 2009 (No. 60). The four most important employment sectors for each population group are highlighted in bold.

Although it was not possible to isolate statistical information relating to the particular employment patterns of Palestinian Christians in Israel from the CBS data, the Sabeel survey does indicate that the majority of Christians in Israel (68.2 per cent) are employed in the service sector, i.e. banks, insurance companies, schools, tourism, hospitals etc, with the next most attractive areas being industry (11.2 per cent), commerce (10.5 per cent) and construction (9.5 per cent). The least relevant area of employment for Palestinian Christians is agriculture which accounts for only 0.6 per cent of all Palestinian Christians.