The National Insurance Institute (NII) recently released their annual poverty report, which stated that the national poverty level rose 7.5 percent in the past year, which is one-fifth of the population. Deputy Minister for Israeli society Michael Melchior said in the Jerusalem Post that “these difficult figures place the essence of our existence in danger – Judaism and Zionism.” Melchior said he also expects acting Finance Minister Ehud Olmert to create new reforms and policies that will benefit the lower working class in Israeli society.