Survey shows Israelis value health over wealth

This is the second-ever systematic formulation of quality of life indicators for these population groups prepared by the institute.

A doctor stands with stethoscope in this undated handout photo. (photo credit: REUTERS)
A doctor stands with stethoscope in this undated handout photo.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A study of quality of life indicators released Sunday by the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs found that “health” is perceived as the most significant factor among all of Israel’s leading sectors: ultra-Orthodox Jews, non-ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arabs.
 
The survey aimed to conceptualize the “happy, healthy and wealthy” of these groups, based on their value systems, using several qualitative and quantitative indicators that measure quality of life. These were broken down into 10 areas:  health, personal well-being and family life, education, income and economic status, employment, housing, community and society, exposure to crime, the environment and public infrastructure.
 
Of the Jews surveyed, it was discovered that despite their different backgrounds and ways of life, Israel’s Jewish citizens all have several common denominators. Each population ranked six areas as most important and in the same order: health, personal well-being and family life, education, income and economic status, employment and housing.
 
In contrast, while the Arab population found the same values to be important, they ranked them slightly differently. Education and employment ranked higher up in the Arab list and personal well-being and family life ranked lower.
 
When one breaks down the results by gender, further differences are revealed. According to the study, women rank health and personal well-being higher in all three population groups, while men put greater importance on public infrastructure than women.
The study also examined the satisfaction of the various sectors in different areas of life, and found that the Arab population is less satisfied with its situation in all areas than the Jewish population in Israel.
 
The Haredi Institute for Public Affairs promotes professional, research-based civic policy on issues pertaining to the confluence of the haredi public and Israeli society. The aim of the report is to help policy makers create tools and strategies to improve the functioning of ultra-Orthodox society and Israeli society in general by presenting them with data.
 
This is the second-ever systematic formulation of quality of life indicators for these population groups prepared by the institute.