Wednesday, April 16, 2008

"The rate of participation in Israel's labor force is among the lowest of Western countries, about 56 percent, due largely to the low employment levels among the ultra-Orthodox and still marginalized Israeli Arabs. The Economist is right to note that Israel's high school students score among the lowest of OECD countries. As things stand, the government is now at a loss to rebuild public education, or even elevate university salaries to an international standard to stem the brain drain. The country has one of the world's highest rates of inequality, yet there are no added investments to further integrate Israeli Arabs. A third of Israel's children continue to live below the poverty line."