How a tax opposed by Shas sparked climate backlash in the ultra-Orthodox community

 https://www.jpost.com/environment-and-climate-change/article-860073

A newly published Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) study found that the well-meaning environmental tax turned into a cultural flashpoint. The 2021 tax on disposable plastics – widely used by haredim with large families and in many family celebrations, made easier by throw-away utensils, plates, and the like – caused a sharp and lasting decline in climate support among the ultra-Orthodox community. It was driven by a deep sense of political victimization – not a financial burden – as many saw the tax as an attack on their way of life. Even years after the tax was repealed, the damage to environmental trust still lingers, the researchers declared.