While on a visit to Israel this week I noticed a billboard advertisement in Tel Aviv for a Chevrolet Mini SUV and the price tag was 211,000 Shekels that $58,800 approximately double the price you would pay for the same car in the USA. One would think that such a car would be unaffordable for most people but a quick survey of the roads show that it is filled with cars that cost between $30,000 and $60,000.
In the small village I am staying in, which is not known for its wealth, many new large houses have gone up over the last few years. Whenever I ask where people have so much money from I am told that it is a mystery and each person has their own story of how they get their money.
So from an outsiders perspective which I admit is not very scientific it seems that the economy in Israel is booming and that people have money in their pockets to spend. The statistics, however, also back this up in 2006, for example, Israel had the 8th highest median household income in the world ahead of Ireland and Hong Kong and many states within the US.
In addition recent data has shown that 2007 was the fifth consecutive year of rapid economic growth in Israel. Last year per capita growth in Israel reached 3.5%, the highest of all Western countries. Unemployment stood at a monthly average of 7.4%, while the standard of living has grown by 5.3%. All of this is very good news and the results are visible on the streets and roads of Israel.
There is however a question that Diaspora Jews should now be asking: with Israel’s economy outperforming most others in the Western world should we still be allocating so much of our charity dollars to Israel. Now I am by no means saying that we should not be giving some of our charitable dollars to Israel. However, as Israel grows richer it may be becoming more self reliant and not need as much outside help as it used to.
The facts are that most ewish Federations in the US and Europe give up to half of the money they fundraise from local donors to Israel. Now whilst giving charity to Israel is laudable and a great Mitzvah clearly many local Jewish causes are being overlooked because of the heavy burden of supporting Israel. In fact our outreach organization in Colorado has been told that because of the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado’s commitment to Israel only very limited funding is available to us.
It is with tremendous delight and gratitude to God that I see Israel thriving economically it is satisfying to see that people have money to build large houses and buy expensive cars and I hope that the growth in standards of living in Israel continues. However, as this happens Israelis should begin to take responsibility for their own and take money out of their own pockets to support the causes that have traditionally fallen to Jews in the Diaspora to support. As this occurs philanthropic money will be freed up for Jewish causes that are in desperate need of being funded locally in the USA and Europe but until now have been neglected in favor of causes in Israel.
(First published on ynetnews.com)