“In 2002 and 2003, Israel experienced the worst economic crisis in its history. The government, which realized the seriousness of the situation, took emergency measures to stabilize the economy. Among these was to slash the budget, including a broad cut to National Insurance Institute allowances.

Today, 10 years later, Israel is seeing the fruits of those cuts: Not only was the country saved from a crisis along the lines of the Greek one, but an economic imperative was created that led large numbers of ultra-Orthodox men and Arab women to join the workforce. As a result, social gaps in Israel are on the decline.

But that is happening only after 10 years. In the first five years after the 2002-2003 cuts, Israel experienced a huge rise in poverty and deepening of social gaps. Farther down the road, the government realized that weaker segments of the population which do not participate sufficiently in the job market need more than an economic imperative to go out and work; they also need help to do so. Complementary measures, like the Wisconsin Plan to help find work, and financial support for the working poor such as negative income tax, were implemented a few years later – and meanwhile, thousands paid a high personal price.”

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