Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Jews live longer than Arabs in Israel, says report
09 Jul 2008 16:57:35 GMT
 Source: Reuters
JERUSALEM, July 9 (Reuters) - Jews live longer and enjoy lower infant mortality and poverty rates in Israel than the country's Arab citizens, said a report published Wednesday by a watchdog partly funded by the European Union.

The report by Sikkuy, a liberal group that promotes reconciliation efforts, said that these and other gaps in living standards were in part a result of discriminatory Israeli policies in allocating funds to Jewish and Arab towns.

"Although Israeli governments declare they are committed to promoting equality among all citizens, Jews and Arabs alike, the reality in Israel shows equality is only in theory," said Nissim Dwek, a spokesman for Sikkuy, which is Hebrew for "opportunity."

Most of Israel's Arab citizens are descendants of Palestinians who remained inside Israel after the Jewish state was founded in 1948 in a war in which hundreds of thousands of others fled or were expelled. Those who remained in Israel now comprise about 20 percent of its population.

Unlike Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, few Israeli Arabs have been involved in violence against the Jewish state, though many sympathize with Palestinian demands for an independent state.

In the 77-page report, Sikkuy said one of its more "worrisome" findings were gaps in life expectancy and infant mortality between Israeli Arabs and Jews in 2007, though both populations had steadily improved in both categories recently.

Jewish men lived an average of 78.4 years, while Arab men lived about four years less, or 74.9 years, the report said.

A similar gap was found between the women from both groups as well. Life expectancy for Jewish women was 82.4 years, while for Arab women it was 78.5.

Infant mortality was 4.8 per thousand for Arabs and 3.6 for Jews, the report said.

Poverty was also higher among Israeli Arabs than Jews, with 50 percent of Arab citizens living below the poverty line even after including welfare stipends, while the figure was just 15.7 percent for Jews, the report said.

Dwek, the Sikkuy spokesman, said these gaps were largely a result of Israel's inequitable distribution of funds.

Towns mostly populated by Arabs tend to get less money than those where Jews live, he said. Both population groups live mostly in separate towns and cities in the Jewish state.

One of the only figures to show a reverse picture was that regarding home ownership, which was 93 percent among Arabs, but just 70 percent among Jews. The report said this was partly because homes in Arab towns were cheaper than elsewhere.

An Israeli official said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was planning to propose ways to improve the integration of Arab citizens in Israel's society at a conference expected to be held later this month.

"It is clear the situation is not so good and can do with an improvement, and that both sides need to make an effort to do so," the official said. (Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Sami Aboudi)


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

NGO latest

•  Sheik Zayed Hospital Celebrates New Medical Equipment Provided by USAID
CARE - West Bank & Gaza

•  Statement -- G8 Nations Must Be Accountable for All Commitments
InterAction - USA

•  Statement - G8 Nations Must Be Accountable for Commitments Made But Not Delivered
InterAction - USA

•  Prior to G8 Summit, Passage of U.S. Appropriations Bill Heralds Increase in U.S. International Aid
WV - USA

•  Aid Agencies to Deliver U.S. Food Assistance to North Koreans
World Vision - Asia Pacific

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Jews live longer than Arabs in Israel, says report

•  US prefers Poland as shield site but has options

•  Iran tests missiles, heightening tension with West

•  FACTBOX-Profile of Kosovo

•  U.S. says Iran reply shows it wants 'common ground'

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by

Related articles

Breaking stories
 Jews live longer than Arabs in Israel, says report (1 minute ago)

US prefers Poland as shield site but has options (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 MEDIAWATCH: Food summit thwarts hope (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 Sheik Zayed Hospital Celebrates New Medical Equipment Provided by USAID (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 HAVE YOUR SAY: Should we put cheaper food and fuel before climate change? (1 minute ago)

Maps
 MAP: Occupied Palestinian territory: West Bank Barrier Route Projections - July 2008 (1 minute ago)


Country information

Facts & figures
Israel Palestinian territories United States of America

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-07-09T120644Z_01_JER17_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER17.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-07-09T120324Z_01_JER19_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER19.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-07-09T120249Z_01_JER18_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER18.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-07-09T115234Z_01_JER16_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER16.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-07-09T114850Z_01_JER15_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER15.htm

Israeli soldiers carry a Palestinian demonstrator detained during a protest against the construction of the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank village of Nilin July 9, 2008. Wednesday is the ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Wed Jul 9 16:59:59 2008