Slippery Slope

The OECD published a new study based on the latest PISA test results from 2009, which concludes that on average, pupils from well-off socioeconomic backgrounds achieved 88 points better than their classmates who came from weaker socioeconomic backgrounds – a gap comparable to two years of study. Israel has the dubious honor of being one of the countries in which the gap is more than 100 points, alongside Argentina, the United States, Hungary and Dubai. (Haaretz)

(Hebrew – Haaretz)

A new study criticizes Israeli school books, claiming they portray the Palestinians negatively. According to a source who read the final report, “the Israeli side emphasizes the series of disturbances, while the Palestinians claim that Israel is the result of imperialist acts. One of the main conclusions is that each side sticks to its own narrative.” Furthermore, the study criticizes Israeli textbooks for not showing the Green Line, and claims that the textbooks in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community are “the closest to the Palestinian textbooks in their treatment of the other side,” according to one source. (Haaretz)

(Hebrew – Haaretz)

A study by Van Leer Institute scholar Dr. Yusri Khaizran concludes that the Arabic language studies for Druze schoolchildren are being used to deepen a sense of Druze identity as separate from the Arab community by filtering out Arab nationalist writers and works that relate to a broader Arab literary context. (Haaretz)

(Hebrew – Haaretz)

A new study maps the ethnic component of each of the economic decile’s of Israel’s population.  According to the study, approximately 47 percent of the top decile are Ashkenazim, while they make up only 25% of the total population.  Only 26 percent of the top decile are Mizrahim, exactly like their proportion of the total population. 48 percent of the bottom decile are Arabs and 19 percent are Haredi.  Only 6 percent of this decile are Ashkenazim, while 12 percent are Mizrahim.  The study further shows that the average income of Mizrahi households is 20 percent, or 1,000 NIS, lower than in Ashkenazim households.

A study by “Sikkuy – the Association for Civil Equality” says that the Arab communities in Israel suffer from discrimination in the distribution of welfare budgets. Inequality is manifested by the ratio between expenditures in social welfare departments in Arab local authorities, to the overall population; and the share of people in need of welfare services, as defined by the Ministry of Social Affairs. According to estimates, the number of the needy is even higher than the official count, because some in need are not being reported, because even the number of social workers in the Arab communities is not sufficient for locating all the needy.

(Hebrew)