Israel set to become OECD's poorest member

Instead of Two States for Two Peoples, I suggest 58 States for Two Peoples: • For the Islamic People: 57 Autocratic States, scattered throughout the World. • For the Jewish People: One Democratic State, which has miraculously survived repeated attempts by the 57 Autocratic States “to wipe Israel off the Map”.

in response to many posts stating that Israel's GDP per capita is higher than that of several OECD member countries. That much is true. But that's not what poverty rates measure. They assess whether the society is egalitarian. USA, which is a rich country, has also high poverty rates because the spread in earnings is very high. Conversely, France, which GDP/capita is much lower than that of the USA, has a low poverty rate because there is a relatively high minimum wage and social benefits, so the social inequalities are lower.

Poverty is a a relative concept. Poverty rates are not about the average income of the population, but about the proportion of the population with less than half of the median income. (the median income is the amount divide population in 2 halves: 50% of the population earn more, and 50% earn less). So poverty rates is more about inequality than about production. See this chart - https://community.oecd.org/community/factblog/blog/2010/01/20/poverty-in-israel

All, You seem concerned about subsidies and the OECD. If you are from the EU, the subsidies of the poorer countries are vast. Portugal and Greece are the worst examples. The EU just bailed Greece out of a debt bubble to the tune of billions of Euros. As for Israel, they ended economic aid from the US in the 90's. They get loan guarantees (those are still loans) in order to get US weapon systems. period. Europe gives Israel nothing and I'm unaware of economic aid to Israel from anyone else. The idea that aid to the PA is 'subsidizing the occupation' is ridiculous. If the EU, the Arabs and the US stopped all aid to the PA, only Palestinians will suffer. Israel would unilaterally withdraw to a border that it desires and the remaining Palestinian territories would be dependent on Jordan and Egypt. Better to start negotiations and see what Palestine will get. As far as the OECD is concerned, the less isolated Israel is, the more the Israeli people might be willing to give up.

Most of the arguments on this board are obviously are written by people who do not work in the financial services sector...I work for one of the largest banks in the world and the way OECD calculates wealth also takes into account country's economic potential, purchasing power parity and debt. The reason why Israel will be the poorest member is because the country has very little natural resources, has small market and has one of the highest debt in the world per size of its GDP.

I guess Turkey has said yes to Israeli membership, because Turkey is one of the early members of OECD and has a veto power and it has the 15th largest economy in the world. As I said before, Turkey and Israel are business as usual behind closed doors. The bottom line is Turkey and Israel are allies despite what others say.

The 2nd largest banking center is in London. What do you think, other than corruption, was the leading "product" of UK banking from 2003 to 2008?

Too many unanswered questions. Israel will not even indicate which goods are produced by the illegal Israeli 'settlers'. Israel will not confine herself to her sovereign borders, so which Israel is seeking entrance to OECD? The 1948 version recognized by the UN, the proposed 1967 version, or the undefined Greater Israel version? Other countries in the Organization have defined borders: why shouldn't Israel?

Why would an apartheid nation under hostile occupation even be considered for membership in the OECD? Why should the 30 member states degrade this organization for Israel's sake? Let Israel come to peace with her neighbours and let the Palestinians find their secure and just borders before Israel imports her problems to us.

The biggest winners from military aid are the US defense contractors. There are lots of strings attached like the majority of Israels weapons it pays cash for must be American, that means no shopping around for whats best for Israels needs - if Amercia doesn't have exactly what we want thats tough The US also has a veto on who Israel can sell its domestic weapons to. China signed a multi billion dollar contract to buy the Israeli Phalcon AWACS no US techlology at all the US stepped in and forced Israel to cancel the contract and Israel had to pay China compensation. India wanted to buy Phalcon US said no and tried to sell them Boeings AWACS which was rejected & later the US gave permission to sell Phalcon to India. Turkey wanted to build a tank & they asked Israel for help the US stepped in said Israel isn't allowed and then tried & failed to sell Abrams to Turkey. No military aid means Israel has much more freedom & long term would probably earn Israel more than the aid is worth

Hallelujah! Tomorrow they will love Israel, the day after...well maybe not so much...and the day after...Regional War. Great idea Ahmet, but poor evaluation of outcomes

Israel gets very little in economic aid these days and has been like that for years. It gets military aid from the US which is nothing more than a subsidy to the US arms industry. The government can't give these companies money directly so they give it in the form of military aid which has all kinds of strings attached like the bulk of the coutries weapons must be American. Thats why Israel doesn't shop around for weapons its because of the military aid agreements. Sometimes the US will contribute towards the cost of an individual weapon system like the Arrow but they have a veto on who it can be sold to and the bulk of the Arrow missiles get made by Boeing. Financially Israel gets very little which is also thanks to an agreement with Bibi & Bush whereby Israel would forgo virtually all finanicial aid in exchange for an increase in military aid ( a subsidy to the US arms business ) Last year Obama did authorize giving the palestinians $900 million direct financial aid.

I agre with Ahmet from Turkey, The long conflict between Arabs and Israel created economic loosers and winners. The winners are the arm dealers that managed to sell hundreds of Billions worth of arms to the ME.Imagine that all this money was spend on development so every country in the ME will look like ABU DHABI.

..by joining OECD, and participating with the other major countries in the world. If the changes in Israeli behavior is necessary to join OECD, the changes should be made. Especially, the discrimination (anti-Arab citizens) issues that surround the Israeli government. Become Modern..also sign the NPT, allow for inspections.

The money deposited in Swiss banks by EUropean Jews does not automatically become the possession of a state that didn't exist before 1948. The monies should be returned to the country's of domicile of those who deposited the money. Besides which, Germany is paying reparations for all that.

...to keep the good relationship with the European countries, too. Now it seems that Israel has troubles to do so...(Sweden, Norway and and as a whole EU have beem labeled to be antisemitic when criticizing the actions of Israel).Among the 30 member countries, 21 are in Europe and among the richest, too.

As far as I know Israel receive a lot more in aid money than any of the other countries in OECD. I think a lot more than the Palestinians get. If Israel is so developed, high tech, fantastic economically etc, why is all that aid money necessary? And where does it all go? As far as I can see it does not go to level out inequality or improve quality of life for all the poor people in the country.

The use of defense and defense forces is manipulating the world's view of reality. How can we have a defense force that is so bloody offensive without calling it at its right name? We don't need this defense - a much better defense would be a just peace and why not the Saudi initiative that would also allow us normalised relations not just with the Palestinians but with our other neighbours as well.

GDP per capita has nothing to do with equality or poverty. It only looks at economic growth, and some of the most unequal countries in the world has a high GDP per capita. If you don't look as well at development ranking, the situation of health, education etc... it doesn't give you a lot of facts at all, as a matter of fact.

....you aren't living in a "Favela", correct..?? Because otherwise you probably wouldn't regard 2 billion $$$ as kind of an alms... Okay, fair enough, so if this is such a piece of cake, why doesn't Israel forego that aid, and proves to the world, that it can do very well without foreign support, and still keep on with the occupation. Show it to us !!!

Why does Israel have a minimum wage when the wife of the Prime Minister of Israel doesn't even pay the rate defined in law?

How can you be a zionist and live in britain? All the countries I mention are members of the OECD. This article acknowledges if Israel gains membership of the OECD t will be it's poorest member. What part of that don't you understand?

....the past few years, if the U.S. and the EU would finally do, what you suggested, this conflict would be solved in a matter of a few months. The only remaining question: Why aren't they doing it...???

Swiss, Enlighten us why Israel survival today it is becoming plain useless? Are we taking any money from Swiss? To begin with give the Jewish money that belongs to us, that is in the Swiss banks, which you've cofisticated in Nazi era. You've to sold whole Swiss to pay your debts after 60 years. Aby

Well, it costs to have the 5th strongest army in the world and to pay people for reading the torah day in and day out... What about making peace and use the money for NORMAL people in Israel?

That's the question!!! The minimum salary is a shame. The government doesn't do nothing about this. With 50 hours a week you get 4000 shekels bruto, it is 3.700 in the pocket and if you spend 220 shekels in busses you can see 3.480 at home. You cann't work saturday to make an extra money because this is time for the arabs, you are out of law. So nothing make sence. The country against the people or we can say better the workers are enemies.

Read the article, it is Israeli officials who are saying that Israel will be the poorest member of the OECD, not me. And Iceland hasn't had to build up it's economy from scratch?

Even though you would love to believe it Chris Israel is actually mch richer than Turkey, Mexico and Portugal. Much higher GDP and purchasing power and the level of develpment is much higher and on a par with many European countries. Israel has a higher GDP than Greece. It is actually about level with Spain in GDP.

Who are you fooling. Google a little then you'll find it. It is not $1000 for a new starter teacher. She gets (according to 9/1) TL 1303 which means 1303 / 1.45 = $890. In Israel a new starter teacher gets NIS 7220 per month cut %25 of it as taxes. She gets net NIS 5415 which it means 5415 /3.76 = $1440.

for real? lets see....my country as an example. We are the 9 largest economy in the wourld, but I can say, Israel is a lot more richer and developed than Brazil, no shame on that. But I see two similarities about Israel and Brazil and the countries you mentioned Both brazilians and Israelis had to built up their countries (also mexico), the rest of the countries you mentioned, only have something becuse their neighborhood....and, Israel is still richer than all of them. Btw, ppl from western europe can't say a word about "land grabbing" or anything like that, as your beloved continent was built stoling the natural reasorses of they old colonies, not to mention slavery.

Again and again.....some ppl seens to not undretand. The US only gives Israel MILITARY aid, 30 billion dollars for the next 15 years, so it is like 2 billion per year. Do you really belive that 2 billion dollars are enought for a country? If Israel is a developed country, agaist all odds it faced, it is becuse the israelis built the country, not becuse foreing aid. Different from your damn cold country, that if wasnt in the right neigborhood, woulnt be absolutely nothing.

is the allegations of corruption. Me thinks Israel is trying to avoid the impositions of sanctions when they miss The Goldstone deadline. But being the poorest nation does put to bed any idea that Israel is an economic miracle. Israel is poorer than Iceland, Belgium, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, Mexico, Poland and Hungary.

You are right in your comparison of income per capita between Israel, Turkey, and Mexico. However, the OECD is more interested in the contributions each country can do to the organization (economical cooperation). Therefore, the gross domestic product (GDP) is of more interest in this case to admit new members. As of 2008 (according to the International Monetary Fund), Mexico had the 13th biggest GDP in the world, Turkey the 17th, and Israel the 42nd. The OECD is NOT a ranking of countries by human development index (HDI), that must be clear to you. Yet, New Zealand has a lower GDP than Israel and is a OECD country, but perhaps they are in a better position to make higher contributions than Israel could.

Like Israeli here, I can't but agree with Ahmed Tibi. Strings attached should be equal rights for all citizens (meaning no perks for "special" citizens either) as well as closing the ever-widening gap between rich and poor. Postpone membership or scrap candidature altogether unless these conditions are addressed.

j: "what criteria are they using to assess wealth??" I suspect that they have made the cardinal sin of including - shock! horror! - the Israeli Arabs in their calculations i.e. they are including ALL Israelis, and comparing that result with a ruler that is run over ALL Mexicans. Kinda' makes ya' think, don't it?

If Israeli teachers are paid 750 brut in a month. In Turkey a teacher earns probably double amount of this but does that mean there is no other working class in turkey or israel. Especialy the south east part of the country are poor and the unemployment rate is soaring. I think Israel should be alot better then turley in general but bear in mind turkey seems to be improving its economy and infrasturucture very fast

Direct US aid to Israel is credit for military purchases and loan guarantees only. The indirect aid though, if cut off, would severely impact the Israeli economy. That indirect aid is in the form of aid to the Palestinian Authority, both directly and in the form of training of PA Security services. If the indirect aid were slowed or cut off, who would pick up the slack? The EU has already said they would only maintain their aid to the PA so long as there is a prospect for a Palestinian state to emerge. Cut off or slow US and EU aid to the PA and Israel is responsible as the occupying power. The US and EU are currently picking up the tab for the occupation.

Make peace with your neighbours and divert defence funds for more pressing needs, or carry on as you are & stay in the third World.

The gap between rich and poor might be a lot less if the Haredi government benefits were cut and they actually had to work and contribute to the economy...

That should ice it.

Mexico and Turkey are OECD countries and both are much poorer than Israel. Per Capita Income (in US$, from CIA World Factbook): Israel 28600 Mexico 14300 Turkey 11900 I didn't bother to check the European countries, but it's likely that several of them are poorer then Israel as well.

....a third world state today, and that only because of your silly, silly occupation. Once it may have been necessary, in order to guarantee Israels survival (if at all), but today it has become plain useless, and it costs the taxpayers all around the world a whole lot of money....

the arab world stops threatening to destroy Israel. the arab world puts down their weapons and spreading of hate and demonization. this would allow Israel to reduce spending on defense and allow it to spend on infrastructure, jobs and continuing efforts to make the desert bloom and eradicate diseases. once the arab world learns to treat all religions equally as Israel does, then that will bring additional tourism to the arab countries. the arab world hopefully will ebrace life and respect as apposed to oppression, slavery, drug trafficking, murder, etc.

there are no good things to say--it is too difficult to pat Israel on the back---like a child who is out of control---discipline comes first---then when etc etc. Meantime--spare the rod---spoil the child. Learn to take your lumps psm.

Israel has the highest rate of Nobel prize winners per capita, highest rate of patents per capita, highest rate of University graduates per capita, highest number of hi-tech companies per capita etc..

if the OECD does not want us to include statistics on Jews living in Jerusalem, Samaria, Judea, and the Golan, then we should not include stats on Arabs and Haredim.Without them, the country would one of the wealthiest in the country. By the way, the reason why salaries are low, taxes are high, and products/services expensive is not because of the Arab boycott or military spending. It is because not enough able bodied people work!!! if the Arabs and Haredim worked for a living and stopped siphoning tax money to their communities, the country would be wealthier, with more money in its coffers and more purchasing power!

You are wrong: Take it this way: Salary for a beginning teacher in Israel is around $750, brut. In Turkey, a beginning teacher would get much more than $1000 net, not brut. When the net salary is calculated, Turkish teachers would easily get twice as much as their Israelli counterparts. Add to these all the other benefits of being a teacher in Turkey: social insurance (which even pays dental work), extra wages per term, extra course hour wages, etc. A beginning teacher in Turkey would then get three to four times as much as Israeli teachers.

Minister Tibi should shut up for once in his life. He only has bad things to state for Israel. Never, never, never, is there any constructive input from this minister and as a rule from most of the Arab ministers serving in the Knesset - IE: The democratic parliament of Israel in which they are elected members. They use their elected positions to demonize Israel ad infinitum , and otherwise are a total waste of government resource, doing NOTHING to improve the plight of Israelis, especially their Arab Israeli electorate. Yes, there are problems in Israel. Yes, there are issues with Israeli-Arab - Jewish relations, but this man has never even once come up with a constructive plan to help resolve any of the problems that he complains about. On the contrary, he is an inciter of ethnic divisions and of intolerance. He creates nothing. Perhaps Arab Israels should consider that entry into the OECD just might be a positive oadvance for all of Israel, including that of the Arab minority.

I think the "poorest member" status is being attributed due to large income GAPS. Sure, there may be a GDP per cap, but it's meaningless if none of that is distributed to people. Everyone here knows that 18 families control upwards of 80% of the wealth. Thus 1/5 of the people here are twice as poor as average OECD. Point, there is a lot of poverty and inequality...and YES I'm sure much of it has to do with our treatment of Arabs.

As a citizen of Israel, I think that it is a matter of principle to protest against Israel's possible membership into the OECD. Poverty corresponds with corruption

what criteria are they using to assess wealth??

Ahmed, It would be great if the rest of the Muslim word would be made of the people sharing your ideas. Then It would really work. If hate is out of equation even most outrageous concessions begin to make sense.

Wouldn't be interesting to find a minority minister in an Arab country do what MK Ahmed Tibi did and still have his head on? How about Turkey, Mexico, Slovak Republic, Or Poland?

Poorest for how long? IMHO, since Israel is sure to become the #1 economic power house in about 50 years or less, PER CAPITA, this OECD membership only demonstrates why G-D's Chosen People has to be #1 in the end, because G-D can not be wrong. I a few years, you will read... Israel ranks 10th among OECD member states; then #9... and then #8... The inexorable fate and confirmation of the unicity of My People - and what a people! - will be there for all to see. Please stay tuned as Israel is the living proof of G-d's existence.

I wasn't aware that Israel was poorer than Mexico or Turkey. Poland or Hungary are doubtful as well. Unless, that is, they are including the PA.

No Netanyahoo does not want us to believe that. CNN BBC and other media do. Double standard towards Israel was always the name of the game. putting down Jews and Israel sells good to the masses and is good rating. To compare us to Hitlers propaganda is evil , the lies about us are repeated till the word believes it. You try to turn the tables on us.

Measured by purchasing power parity (PPP), Israel's per capita income is approximately double that in either Mexico or Turkey. Mexico and Turkey are both OECD members. The claim that Israel would be the poorest member of the OECD is utterly unfounded.

GDP per capita: Israel $30,000 Turkey $10,000 Mexico $10,000 Poland $14,000 Hungary $15,000 Israel is poorer than OECD members listed above? I don't think so.

There are no fewer than 9 current OECD members whose per capita GDP ranks below Israel's. This includes Turkey and Mexico, whose per capita GDP's are less than half of Israel's. By what measure is Israel's poverty or inequality greater than Mexico's or Turkey's??

This is good news for Israel,does it bother you THAT much? Why are positive reports on Israel so often only found in the other media.?

Israel spend billions every year on defense. This is needed for its survival. If Israel did not need to spend so much on defense it could spend a lot more on various social and economic programs thus becoming as rich as any other OECD country. May peace arrive soon to Israel and its neighbours!

Democracy is one thing, but to stop the country you are deem to represent it is absurd. That is abuse of a right which is a privilige in any nation. Still today in real terms there are more dictatorships than real democracies in the world today.

Is not the 'truth' that the current government of Israel wants Israelis to believe that the entire world is irreversibly opposed to Israel? Is not all of Europe, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and the Obama Administration dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the extermination of all Jews? Why is it that Haaretz would publish evidence that the belief that the Netanyahu Government wants all Israelis to have - that the entire world is hostile to Israel? Could it be that the TRUTH is that the entire world is not hostile to Israel and does not want to exterminate all Jews? Why would Netanyahu, Lieberman and Amos Yadlin want Israelis to believe that the entire world is their enemy? Could it be that Netanyahu, Lieberman and Yadlin are just following Hitler's dictum "Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it." I would bet that a bunch of right-wing extremists that have everything to lose if peace were to break out are just trying to scare Israelis

Kind of like saying "John Smith set to become least talented gymnast in the olympics." Might be true, but it misses the point. Sigh. Israelis could stand to learn something from Americans' irrepressible optimism.

Israel actually has a higher GDP per capita than many of the other countries in the OECD. It also weathered the recent financial crisis better than any economy in the developed world, one of the few countries that had stable enough finances not to require a government bail-out of the banks. The GDP growth predictions for 2010 are 3.5%. And Israel has the highest number of start-ups and venture-capital per capita in the world.

we are turning into a developing country/banana republic. our excuses about wars can only last so long before we start social reform to address poverty, inequality, etc.

Israel has many unresolved problems. What's the rush??

Israel accepts the Saudi nPeace Iniatiative in exchange for normal relations with the Arab World. Then watch all of those Rich Arab entrepeneurs and Israeli ones too start making trade deals and exchange tourism etc etc etc. Then you will see how many more jobs will be created and the economies, especially Israelis, grow. And if Iran was added to that equation...then what a deal!

ISRAEL DESERVES TO BE BETTER ACCEPTED IN THIS PLANET , THAT LACK OF JUSTICE .