29 percent of people aged 20 and above in Jerusalem, reside in an apartment they are renting. The rest reside in an apartment they own (60%), or use other arrangements (11%), including an apartment owned by a family member or a friend. This is revealed by the Central Bureau of Statistics' social survey, for the years 2012-2013 (years were averaged to minimize inaccuracy).
The percentage of renters in Jerusalem equals the one in Haifa (29%), and is low compared to Tel Aviv (42%). Interesting to note is the percentage being equal to that in Haifa, since Jerusalem is home to a very large population characterized by a traditional way of life, and we could have expected a lower percentage of renters.
Most of these renters do not own an apartment, but a considerable share does. 16 percent of Jerusalemites residing in a rented apartment (15% in Tel Aviv and only 10% in Haifa) own a different apartment, possibly renting it to others. As a result, the total percentage of home owners in Jerusalem is higher than the 60 percent residing in their own place, and stands at 66 percent in Jerusalem, 61 percent in Tel Aviv, and 71 percent in Haifa.
Of course the people residing in their own apartment sometimes own another one as well. This describes 12 percent of the people that live in their own apartment in Jerusalem, 15 percent in Haifa, and 22 percent in Tel Aviv.
Naturally, the rate of home ownership rises with age. Among young people aged 20-34 in Jerusalem, this rate stands at 55% - slightly higher than in Haifa (at 52%) and considerably higher than in Tel Aviv (at 39%). This percentage rises continuously with age in the three large cities, but in Jerusalem it rises slower, and comes to 79 percent at the age group of 65 and above – equal to the percentage in Haifa (at 79%), but lower than in Tel Aviv (at 86%). The change of the trend between the cities in the older ages may be connected to the difficulty of buying an apartment in Jerusalem, even for the people who are older today, meaning that the difficulty has been prevailing for years. But considering the high apartment prices in Tel Aviv, we can assume that it probably also stems in part from the phenomenon of young people leaving Tel Aviv, having failed to purchase an apartment there.
Can people be trusted? This question was one of those posed as part of the social survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics, whose data for the year 2016 were recently published. The results indicate that the majority (59% of those ages twenty and over in Israel) thinks that one should beware of trusting others, and that most people can't be trusted, while only 41% of the residents of Israel think that in general, most people can be trusted. We tried to determine who feels that most people can be trusted, and who has reservations.
Sometimes there is an assumption that the wealthier people are, the less they trust others, but it may be that the reality is just the opposite – the survey reveals a connection, but it found that it was actually people of a higher socio-economic status who tended to have trust in others. Among those with higher incomes (NIS 4,001 and above, per capita, for each member of the household), about half of the respondents (51%) stated that people can be trusted, as opposed to 40% among medium income earners (NIS 2,001 to NIS 4,000 per capita), and only a quarter (25%) of low income earners. When examining non-economic variables as well, the findings were similar. Thus a much higher level of people who have an academic degree, as compared to those who don't have higher education, tend to trust others (61% as opposed to 36%).
Does religious identity influence the response? Among Jews, it is clear that higher levels of religious people (54%) and secular people (52%) feel that others can be trusted, as opposed to Haredim (40%) and traditional Jews (36% to 41%).
And what about Tel Aviv? Is it "dog eat dog" in that city? Not necessarily – most (54% among the Jews) residents of Tel Aviv actually do tend to trust others, as opposed to 46% of (Jewish) Jerusalemites. In fact, among the big cities, Tel Aviv is the city where the highest percentage of people who tend to trust others was recorded.
It seems that satisfaction with life is also related to the tendency to trust others. Among Jews, a majority (54%) of people who stated that they are very satisfied with their lives said that most people can be trusted. The more satisfaction with life decreases, so does the tendency to trust others decrease, with only 15% of people who are not satisfied with their lives at all, thinking that you can trust most people.
And finally – it is interesting to see that age also influences the results. Thirty to forty-nine year-olds trust others at higher levels (42%-46%) than other age groups do (37%-41%).
To our readers – thank you for your ongoing trust in us, we apologize if we have offended you in any way, and wish you well over the fast.