Skills of Israel’s Population Sharply Declining. The Zionist Project is in Peril. All Power to Education.

The Bank of Israel (BoI) published the main results of current PIAAC report, which is anything but impressive. Israel is losing ground dramatically in terms of skills and education.

In general, Israel has outstanding success in the top sector (universities) with the top universities TAU, Technion, Hebrew University and Weizmann, but it is completely lacking in terms of breadth.

“The PIAAC survey is an international project to assess basic skills among people aged 16–65 in the areas of literacy, numeracy, and adaptive problem-solving.

Israel participated in the survey for the first time in 2014–2015 (in the latter part of the cycle that took place between 2011 and 2015) and recently took part in the cycle that was conducted in 2022–2023″, summarized the BoI in its press release (paraphrased quoted).

The following graphic illustrates Israel’s gap very clearly across the board.

One major conclusion in the words of the BoI is: “The skills of Israeli workers are lower than the OECD average, particularly in lower-skilled professions and industries.” and “(…) the skills gap between Israel and the OECD average increased between the 2011–2015 and 2022–2023 surveys, (…)“. This is a deadly development.

The Facts

The facts are ((paraphrased quoted): The skill scores in Israel are 15 points below the OECD average. However, with significant differences between population groups.

The scores of the Arab population are significantly lower, with a gap of 45-60 points compared to the average score among non-Haredi Jews. The scores of the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) population are about 10 points lower than the average among non-Haredi Jews.

The score gaps between Israel and the OECD are prominent and noticeable across different segments of the population: men and women, adults and young people, as well as individuals with varying levels of education.

One very threatening conclusion drawn by the BoI is: “In other words, while the scores of Israelis with high skill levels are only slightly lower than those of their OECD counterparts, those with low skill levels received much lower scores than their OECD counterparts (…) There are already marked gaps in human capital between Israel and the OECD at early ages, and they remain significant throughout the lifespan. (…) Another factor that may explain the skills gaps between Israel and the OECD average is the higher rate of skills erosion as adults age. The analysis shows that skills erosion with increasing age is more prominent in Israel than in the OECD among those born in the 1960s and 1970s.“

But as already said, the gap goes right through the segments of the population. It is not only a gap that thrives due to the large gap in the Arab population, but alsoin all segments. Read the quote:

“(…) the skills gap among those with an academic occupation is about 0.3 standard deviations, while the gap among professional workers in manufacturing is about 0.5 standard deviations. In the information and communications industry, the skills gap is just 0.15 standard deviations, while in the construction and transportation industries, it is about 0.6 standard deviations.”

Devasting. In any case, far too much.

The Approach to Understand

The problem cannot therefore be understood and solved on the basis of ethnic/cultural segmentation or on the basis of classic segmentations (gender, young/old, etc.). As the facts clearly show, it is a problem of Israeli society as such.

A sectoral view obscures the view of the larger context. This problem cannot be solved by investing large sums in programs for the respective groups. It will deepen the problem and trigger a race to the bottom based on clientelist politics.

Some Random Observations

Israel is not a multicultural society. It is not a melting pot, but a mosaic society shaped by bureaucratic socialism. Oligarchy, cronyism and ‘balaganism’ are the dominant factors for survival. Each mosaic is too small on its own, some are in the wrong place or are missing altogether. One such missing mosaic is the Olim.

They are cum grano salis even less integrated than all other non-Jewish societies in Israel, although they, the Olim, are Jewish (some say, most of them). The welcome culture on a daily life base is rather underdeveloped. The maximum is that someone says to you ‘Bruchim Habaim‘ and then walks away. An apparent paradox; but that is a different story we leave aside for the moment.

The reasons for this non-integration of those huge potentials are manifold. One out of many is the Ulpan, which is a completely unsuitable instrument for adult education. It is a bureaucratic, socialist solution and therefore not a solution. It makes the situation worse.

Many of the Olim groups are highly qualified. However, Israel allows itself the luxury of letting Olim sweep the floors of Israel for minimum wage or releasing them into the so-called “basic income” rather than integrating those skills.

One of the main problems in Israel is the lack of language skills and its consequence, cultural isolation and provincialism as a trend. Sounds tricky, is tricky. Ask your Oleh who speaks on average at least two languages fluently, but very seldom the native-born Jewish Israeli.

One consequence out of many is that many, too many, people don’t understand themselves and therefore shout at others or simply walk away. In both cases, it is obvious that they have no interest in the Other. Same cause, different reactions.

Last, but not least, one final observation should not go unmentioned: the lack of vocalization in the written form is not only a problem for those who want to learn Hebrew but also for those whose mother tongue is Hebrew. There should be a reform here. In order to survive in the modern age, i.e. to improve reading skills, a vocalized written form is needed.

Conclusion: If Israel wants to survive, we do not only need our own arms, better democracy and sovereignty, but also top priority for education which must become deeper, better, diverse, open-minded and integrative.

Based on the press release of the BoI (16.12.2024)