Ben-Gurion University surveys giving

JERUSALEM, June 9 (JTA) — A survey of charity and volunteerism in Israel has found that religious Jews donated more than seven times as much as their secular counterparts. The survey on giving and volunteerism, the first of its kind in Israel, was carried out by Professor Binyamin Gidron of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Among the survey’s findings: * three out of every four Israelis give to charity; * individual Israelis donated in 1996 some $135 million; * the average amount donated annually per Israeli is about $78; * 77 percent of the adult Jewish population in Israel gave to charity last year; * among the fervently Orthodox, or haredi, community, individuals pledge about $294 annually, compared to about $39 pledged by secular Jews; * most of the haredi community donated to organizations serving only the religious community; * one out of every five Israelis is involved in some sort of volunteer activity. The survey was based on a sample of 500 Israeli Jews.