Social services minister aims for no senior to celebrate alone
“Our goal is to ensure that no senior citizen will remain alone during the holidays.”
Welfare and Social Services Minister Haim Katz invited all senior citizens, including Holocaust survivors, to celebrate the Jewish New Year together in guest accommodations that the ministry will operate in retirement and vacation homes throughout Israel.
“Our goal is to ensure that no senior citizen will remain alone during the holidays, and I ask all senior citizens who live alone to register and join the activities,” Katz said.
The office will finance every single elderly person a stay for three to four days during Rosh Hashanah or Sukkot in one of these guest houses, which will include accommodations, holiday meals and social activities.
Those wishing to join for the holidays should contact the Welfare and Social Services Department. For more information, call *118.
Israel’s Senior Citizens make up 11.3% of the total population
Ahead of International Senior Citizens Day on October 1, the Central Bureau of Statistics published their findings on topics relating to Israel’s 65 and up population.
978,400 people or 11.3% of Israel’s total population is over 65 years old. Out of that number, some 545,000 were women and some 434,000 were men.
Ahead of International Senior Citizens Day on October 1, the Central Bureau of Statistics published their findings on topics relating to Israel’s 65 and up population.
Compared to countries like Japan and Germany, where the elderly populations are 27.9% and 22.1% respectively, this percentage is relatively low. However, the data indicates that this is due to Israel’s increasingly high birthrates.
The CBS notes that the growth of the over 65 population is gradual: In 1948, they only accounted for only 4% of the population.
The report also projects that by 2040, the number will increase to 14.3% of the population or some 1.9 million, and by 2065, it is expected to be 15.3% or 3 million people.
4% of Jewish seniors are over 75 years old and 35% are Arab.
88% of Israelis over the age of 65 said they are satisfied with their lives, 11% admitted to feeling lonely and only 9% have experienced age discrimination.
Overall, women are still living longer and cohabitating less than their male counterparts: 62% of those over the age of 85 are women.
82% of men over the age of 65 were reported as having a spouse, whereas only 49% of women of that age were married.
Women aged 65 and up are 2.7 times more likely to live alone than men (32% and 12%, respectively), and Jews were 1.4 times higher than Arabs (24% and 17%, respectively) to live alone.
Approximately 210,000 people aged 65 and over lived alone, or 23% of the entire elderly population. This is in comparison to the 5% among those aged 18-64.
Jerusalem has the highest elderly population in the country, with some 65 thousand people. However, due to its population, this accounts for only 9% of the population.
Bat Yam, on the other hand, has the highest concentration of senior citizens, making up 21.3% of the population with some 27,500 residents.
In terms of economic satisfaction, the CBS reports that 67% of seniors are satisfied with their economic status, in comparison to their younger counterparts, who only reached 58%.
In addition, 72% of people aged 65 and older are able to cover their monthly expenses, unlike 63% of those of a younger age.
The employment rate among people aged 65 and over is 20.4%. Out of that number 51.4% worked full-time while the remaining 48.6% worked part-time.