If the median Israeli household income is e.g. 8000 shekels bruto (gross) per month, then the Israeli poverty line is 4000 shekels bruto per month i.e. any household with a lower income is considered below the poverty line.

What does the media make a large part-time workforce a bad thing? Should not this be a good sign that youth and students are working, and that mothers can also find work while the kids are in school?

And given that, there seems to be a growing awareness of ‘misrat em’ which means that some companies find it convenient (and are willing) to give mothers a part-time job in which they can come in during specific hours a day.

and with regard to poverty, Israel can’t be judged on such nominal stats because of two major reasons; Arabs and Haredim. In general, both have a multi-child non-western lifestyle that might not be centred on the pursuit of wealth and consumption. A Haredi family might have eight kids, father studying all day, mother working part-time, and they are getting by with the basics (which most of us would seem primitive) – but considered poor. The Arabs (in general again) also have a lower standard of living and get by with less (besides the ‘natural’ tendency to evade taxes to the Jewish state and/or work under the table). Both groups simply get by with much less. Though, I am not denying that there are real poor people in Israel (in all sectors) with empty fridges.