Arabs living in Israel earn 44 percent less per month than the average Jewish worker. The average monthly wage in Arab communities is 5,252 Israeli shekels ($1,156) compared to NIS 9,363 in Jewish cities, according to research conducted by the Adva Center.
The findings are based on figures from 2001 provided by the National Insurance Institute. The national average salary has remained unchanged over the past three years.
Israel's national salary average has hovered the NIS 7,603 mark since 2001. Among Arab communities, residents of the Jisr A-Zarka village recorded the lowest average, NIS 3,881, while residents of Ma'aliyeh were the highest earners, with an average monthly wage of NIS 7,016.
A recent report prepared by the Advocacy Center for Arab Palestinian Citizens of Israel indicates a deepening of discrimination of the Arab citizens of Israel in the last two years. More than half of Israel’s Arab children live under the poverty line. According to a report issued by the National Council for the Child, this rate is 2.5 times higher than the percentage of Jewish children living below the poverty line. — (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
