The war is not an excuse to neglect the fight against poverty - opinion

While the government is busy formulating the state budget for 2025, it appears that the war has become a convenient excuse to ignore the deep social crisis in which Israel finds itself. The grim reality of about two million citizens living in poverty, including one in every five children suffering from food insecurity, requires a systematic and comprehensive approach.

Seemingly, there is recognition of the need for systematic treatment of poverty. The fact that the Authority for Fighting Poverty Bill passed its first reading with cross-party support indicates this.

The new law is supposed to concentrate the government’s fight against poverty under one body that will formulate policies and action plans in education, health, housing, and employment. However, in practice, the law is stuck without a set date for further discussion, and the 2025 budget does not include funding for it. This is a clear example of the gap between declarations and actions.

The new budget proposal not only fails to offer solutions but deepens the distress. Raising VAT to 18% will particularly burden the weaker socioeconomic classes. Studies show that households in the lower deciles spend a larger portion of their income on basic consumer products and are therefore more affected by VAT increases.

While many countries worldwide have reduced VAT rates on basic products, in Israel, except for fruits and vegetables, there is no tax relief on basic food items. Why not consider extending the VAT exemption to essential products like bread, legumes, and eggs?

The Budget

The budget and its accompanying legislation also harm the health of vulnerable populations. The planned increase in medication copayments, along with imposing new fees for mental health services within health maintenance organizations, creates another difficulty for vulnerable populations. For families already struggling to survive, these additions may lead to forgoing essential medications or medical treatments.

At the beginning of the war, civil society organizations approached the economy and finance ministers requesting the activation of the emergency clause in the Price Control Law, which was designed exactly for such situations.

The law allows for price control of essential products during shortages or exceptional circumstances. The request was met with a wall of silence. Instead, we saw dramatic price increases in food, reaching up to 10% in some networks.

Particularly concerning is the attempt within the new legislation to abolish the Food Security Council. This is an especially harmful move given the continuous rise in food prices and the fact that over 250,000 families in Israel suffer from severe food insecurity. It is precisely at this time that existing mechanisms need to be strengthened, not weakened.

The damage being done extends to employment, with a significant deterioration in the situation of low-wage workers. The government is not only freezing tax brackets and credit points and raising National Insurance fees, but is also restricting the work grant intended for low-wage earners.

Freezing the income ceiling for the work grant creates an absurd situation: An hourly worker who increases his or her working hours might find themselves crossing the eligibility threshold and losing the grant – a negative incentive that particularly hurts those trying to escape the cycle of poverty.

While the war requires significant resource allocation, this must not serve as an excuse to neglect social resilience. A strong society is one that cares for all its citizens, especially in times of crisis. The attempt to present cuts in welfare budgets as “necessary reality” ignores the existence of alternative policy options.

We need a systematic approach that includes supervision of basic food prices, tax relief on essential products, and the establishment of an authority to fight poverty with appropriate powers and budgets. Instead, the government chooses to ignore possible solutions and deepen social gaps.

National resilience is measured not only in military strength but also in the ability to care for the most vulnerable citizens. If we don’t address the roots of poverty now, we will find ourselves dealing with an even deeper social crisis in the future.

Security challenges require us to unite as a society, but they must not become an excuse to neglect the state’s basic duty toward its citizens.

The writer, an attorney, is a policy advocate at The Forum for Fighting Poverty.