In a country where the cost of living continues to rise steadily, many are struggling to make ends meet. This year, there has been a 28% increase in requests for aid from families aged 20-30, the sharpest rise among all demographic groups.
According to Israeli NGO Pitchon Lev, which focuses on poverty alleviation, it is a result of a lack of investment in welfare.
These young people are in the midst of life, often with young children, hopes, and dreams. However, in today's reality, they cannot make ends meet. While most of Israel is preparing for Passover, Pitchon Lev identifies a worrying trend: a 28% increase in requests for aid from young families aged 20-30. This is the sharpest rise among all demographic groups, with thousands of families turning to the organization.
Natali (a pseudonym), 32, from Migdal HaEmek, immigrated to Israel at age 11. Today, she is a mother of a 13-year-old child with special needs, a 12-year-old daughter, and a 9-year-old son. Behind the scenes, a daily battle for survival is taking place. Natali and her partner have reached the brink of collapse—mentally, financially, and functionally. Three children, medical needs, the daughter's disability, canceled benefits, Israeli bureaucracy, debts—the challenges are overwhelming.
"Not long ago, we simply had nothing to eat," she told Walla. "I was in debt of over 170,000 shekels, and my partner had a similar amount. We were managing on our own. He suffered from severe mental breakdowns, underwent psychiatric hospitalization, and hasn’t been working since. I found a temporary job in a factory, but it doesn’t cover anything."
According to Pitchon Lev data, ahead of Passover 2025, there was a 17% overall increase in requests for aid, with a 20% rise in requests from seniors (ages 60-80). The central concern is the future: the fact that such young people—at the start of their lives—are already falling into deep poverty without a safety net and without sufficient support from the state. In many cases, young families fall through the cracks of traditional social services: they are "not poor enough" for benefits but are far from stable financial footing.
Natali shares in pain: "If we had known we could get such help earlier, maybe my partner wouldn’t have collapsed. Maybe I wouldn’t have had to choose between food and paying for the property tax. People just don’t know what they’re entitled to or where to turn. I just want my kids to feel they don’t have nothing—even at Passover."
Israeli NGO calls for assistance in poverty alleviation
Pitchon Lev is calling on the public and the government to take systemic action to address poverty among young people: vocational training programs, affordable housing, exemptions from debt fines or bad debts, and better access to entitlement utilization. "We cannot wait for deep poverty. We must catch young families before they start falling," says the organization. "As in Natali's case, a few small steps at the right times can change entire lives."
In a country where prices are rising, job security is eroding, the call for war can come at any moment, and the dream of owning a home seems further out of reach, young people are feeling the pressure. But for Natali, even amidst all the hardship, there is room for hope. "I still dream of finishing the debts, going back to school, maybe studying graphic design. I want to know we’re on our way to something good. In the meantime, every little bit of help is a breath of fresh air."
Eli Cohen, CEO of Pitchon Lev, added: "The sharp rise we are seeing in the number of aid recipients ahead of Passover is a clear and stark expression of the deepening distress in Israeli society. It is a painful reality that is expanding year by year—not because of a natural disaster but because of a long-standing policy that abandons the middle class, workers, freelancers, and retirees. The data we see on the ground does not surprise us—it confirms a trend we are all too familiar with: More and more families are forced to ask for help just to survive. This is the result of the lack of real investment in welfare infrastructure and the absence of a comprehensive systematic approach."
"The law establishing the Authority for the Struggle Against Poverty, which recently entered the books, is the first hope for change—a shift from localized, sometimes random responses to a national, budgeted, measurable, and goal-oriented approach. Passover is an opportunity to remind us all of the values of moving from slavery to freedom—and to turn them into action. If we choose to act with consistency and courage, next Passover could look very different—for tens of thousands of families."