Last week, I commented that a very healthy report from the OECD on Israel’s economy had covered up a ‘dark side’ to the statistics.  I was talking about the lack of “inclusive growth”, where the income differentials between the highest and lowest earners in the economy are extreme (compared to other countries) and growing.

A few days later, the “International rating agency Standard & Poor’s reiterated its A+/A-1 sovereign rating for Israel, with a stable outlook.”  Effectively confirming the OECD conclusions, the summary observed:

We expect the Israeli economy to weather potential volatility in the global economy and international financial market, thanks to its diversified economy, strong external position, and flexible monetary framework.

As if to back up that comment, the Israeli Ministry of Finance released news of an unexpected budget surplus in January. Tax revenues were up 8% on the same month in 2015. That’s impressive.

So where is the ‘but’ in all of this?

On Monday, the Hebrew daily newspaper “Calcalist” (The Economist) analysed data from the Bureau of Statistics for 2014. Consider these three pieces of information.

1. The average monthly wage before tax is 9,385nis – almost US$2,500
2. 54% of wage earners do not earn enough money to pay income tax
3. 1% of wage earners earn over 500,000 nis per month.

There are other social discrepancies. For example, people in the Tel Aviv region pay about 34% more in tax and social security than the average citizen.

I do not know of one country where the distribution is equal. On the other hand, Israel is clearly now a land of a few”haves” and those looking to catch up. That is not a recipe for creating a cohesive society.

Israel is a country where the divisive challenges posed by the ultraorthodox and also the non-Jewish sectors are already troubling. It is clearly apparent that these problems are paralleled by increasing differences between social strata. And all this in a week, when the Prime Minister’s wife has been found guilty for treating her staff badly. Anybody see a dangerous pattern here?