One-quarter of Israelis—and 37 percent of its children—live in poverty. 1.8 million of Israel’s 8 million people live below the poverty line. Poverty afflicts more than 400,000 Israeli families – including almost 7 percent of families with two working people. Defense spending makes up about one-fifth of the total budget.
“That we have such a high defense budget means we have to be judicious with the rest,” said Dan Ben-David, executive director of Israel’s Taub Center, a think tank.
Millions of Saudi’s below poverty line, estimated to be as much as one-quarter of the native Saudi population. For many years, image-conscious Saudi officials denied the existence of Saudi poverty. Between 2 million and 4 million of the country’s native Saudis live on less than about $530 a month — about $17 a day — which analysts generally consider the poverty line in Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah personal fortune is $18 billion, making him the world’s third-richest royal, behind the rulers of Thailand and Brunei. Vast sums of money end up in the pockets of the royal family through a web of nepotism, corruption and cozy government contracts, according to Saudi and U.S. analysts. Saudi royals enrich themselves through corrupt schemes, such as confiscating land from often-poor private owners, then selling it to the government at exorbitant prices.
“That we have such a high defense budget means we have to be judicious with the rest,” said Dan Ben-David, executive director of Israel’s Taub Center, a think tank.
Millions of Saudi’s below poverty line, estimated to be as much as one-quarter of the native Saudi population. For many years, image-conscious Saudi officials denied the existence of Saudi poverty. Between 2 million and 4 million of the country’s native Saudis live on less than about $530 a month — about $17 a day — which analysts generally consider the poverty line in Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah personal fortune is $18 billion, making him the world’s third-richest royal, behind the rulers of Thailand and Brunei. Vast sums of money end up in the pockets of the royal family through a web of nepotism, corruption and cozy government contracts, according to Saudi and U.S. analysts. Saudi royals enrich themselves through corrupt schemes, such as confiscating land from often-poor private owners, then selling it to the government at exorbitant prices.
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