Does Jewish poverty exist? Yes. Due to popular stereotypes, many
people think that Jewish poverty is an oxymoron; however, there
are almost a quarter of a million Jewish people in New York who
live in households with incomes under 150% of the Federal
Poverty Guideline. These 244,000 poor people represent 15% of
the 1.66 million Jewish people in all Jewish households in the
New York area. There are also 104,000 “near poor” living in
Jewish households in the eight-county New York area, who have
incomes only marginally above the poverty line. This makes a
total of 348,000 poor and near-poor people in Jewish households
in the New York area. Jewish Poverty has increased substantially
in the last decade, while overall poverty levels in the nation
have remained essentially stable; this increase is due largely
to the influx of refugees from the former Soviet Union during
the 1990’s. What causes Jewish poverty? Poverty in the Jewish
community has its roots in the same issues that cause poverty in
other communities. Ho