Community Magazine April 2019

34 Community Magazine are still families and children in need of assistance. Which is why I support Yad Ezra V’Shulamit, which aims to help these children, and this is why you should support them. I know you’re doing your best. I want you to do more. This is a very worthwhile project. It’s to give from the heart to the heart of a young child. At Yad Ezra V’Shulamit, they never forget that. You shouldn’t either.” Since its inception, the organization has distributed over one million food baskets that include chicken, fruit, vegetables, oil, grains, beans, canned goods, pasta, and challah. But what differentiates Yad Ezra V’Shulamit from other organizations that help the needy is its long-term goal – to change the future for children who are born into poverty.   Lurie’s philosophy is that while there is no shame in being poor, poverty has a significant adverse impact upon a child’s future. “Growing up poor isn’t a bad thing,” Lurie says. “The problems begin the moment poverty damages a child’s self-esteem. The path from that place to the street is very short. To stop the cycle of poverty, we have to make sure people’s spirits aren’t broken, especially the children.” Reminiscing about his own experiences, Lurie continues, “People often mean well, but end up causing damage. I remember as a child standing in a line to get a free bag of potatoes when someone came up to me and gave me a used, dirty toy. I felt humiliated and terrible. That person thought he was doing a big mitzvah , but I ended up crying. The dignity of the poor person is more important than anything you give him.” The Grim Reality of Poverty in the Jewish State Unfortunately, despite the rapid development and success that Israel has enjoyed in recent years, the country still grapples with a very real poverty problem. According the country’s National Insurance Institute report published in December 2018, Israel has the highest poverty rate of all OECD countries. More children live under the poverty line in Israel than in Mexico. And many more hover just above the poverty threshold, at what experts call “near poverty.” The study revealed that the poverty rate among Israeli households stands at 18.5 percent, and the rate of near poverty was a further 8.1 percent, such that nearly 27 percent of Israelis – more than 1 in 4 – are either poor or very close to it. Why is Israel plagued with such a poverty problem? According to Lurie, it’s incredibly difficult for most families to keep up with Israel’s high cost of living. Rental and housing costs have skyrocketed due to the influx of many immigrants who come and buy or rent expensive apartments, which artificially raises costs.  “My entire salary goes for rent,” one food basket recipient explained.  “How are we supposed to make it?” “The quality of life in Israel has skyrocketed in ways we could never have imagined, thank Gd,” Lurie says. “However, close to one-third of the population lives under the poverty line. They are simply left behind. There are certain sectors who don’t reap these benefits. There are people who go on vacation twice a year and there are people who don’t know where their next meal will come from.” The author of the National Insurance Institute report, Dr. Shlomo Swirski, on the other hand, believes widespread privatization of services is to blame. “Due to several factors, the main one being privatization, people who cannot afford basic services are not getting what they need,” Swirski told The Jerusalem Post . Indeed, government resources allocated to the poor are scarce, and so organizations like Yad Ezra V’Shulamit have stepped up to the plate to try tomake sure that everyone, at the very least, has food, and to narrow the economic gaps in Israel. Lurie emphasizes that food is not the only problem. “There are elderly people who need medicines that they can’t afford. I recently spoke to a man who has high blood Hundreds of children receive their only hot meal at Yad Ezra V'Shulamit.