Israel’s income gap is one of the highest in the world (following Chile,
Mexico, Turkey and the United States). Israel, as O.E.C.D. reports have
already indicated more than once, somehow manages to be a “start-up
nation,” with high economic growth; yet, at the same time, it remains a
backward nation with many extremely poor families. [...]
Israelis already know the numbers, and most have already formed opinions
on this topic. Many middle-class Israelis are convinced that the poor
themselves are at fault — and unless they do something about it, there’s
not much that the state can do for them.
Two segments of Israel’s population stand out as the poorest of the
poor: “ultra-Orthodox Jews” and “Muslim-Arabs.” Unemployment rates for
ultra-Orthodox Jews (mostly ultra-Orthodox men) and Arabs (mostly Arab
women) are very high. So are birth rates. The result: 59 percent of the
ultra-Orthodox (also known as Haredim) are poor. Similarly, 58 percent
of Arab Israelis are poor. Other groups with notably high rates of
poverty are the elderly and new immigrants — but the numbers for these
two groups are much lower, 23 percent and 17 percent, respectively.[...]
For middle-class Israelis to care, the message from the state should be
quite different — one that could be called compassionate cruelty. The
state should be telling its citizens: We don’t much care if the
poor-by-choice get even poorer and get even less from the state. We
don’t much care about poverty rates that take everybody into account
without much consideration of personal and communal decisions and their
consequences. But we will ensure that those willing to work and pay
their dues are properly assisted, and the government will make sure that
they are the only ones to be raised above poverty level on the
government’s dime
The article also says, " Low-skilled workers are finally joining the work force, but naturally they can only get low-paying jobs and can’t earn enough to make ends meet and rise above the poverty line. Of course, this sends a potentially devastating message to those who are still unemployed that going to work isn’t worthwhile."
ReplyDeleteAn avreich told me on Friday that it is not worth while going to work because he would lose more benefits than he could earn. This is true for most hareidim. Don't expect hareidim to leave kollel in droves to go to work whatever Yair Lapid does until he solves this problem.
Until Lapid solves this problem? There are two main ways to earn more--one is to tough it out and gain enough skills through experience to be worth more, and the other is to get some more education. The problem is that Israeli Chareidim think practical education is treif, and unlike other communities, don't get through the low paying entry level jobs before they are responsible for a family. This is not a problem a government can solve with any sensible policy.
DeleteHe will be unpleasantly surprised in the near future. The government is conditioning subsidies on 2 working parents. If the father refuses to work - then the family will lose their subsidies... If they stay in kollel & refuse to work - then they will lose their subsidized day care, starting next school year, Sept. 2014... This benefit is worth about 1,500 shekel a month per child... And there are other subsidies that they will lose if they refuse to work...
Delete"Furthermore, we intend to increase the workforce by increasing the number of Arab women and haredi men in the workforce. We intend to initiate a program where Arab women will be encouraged and helped financially and otherwise to set up small businesses. We have also created an environment in which haredi males are increasingly joining the labor force because they understand that their way of life is unsustainable in a modern society. According to our records, the number of young haredi men enrolling in yeshivas has fallen, and those joining the workforce has increased." -- Yair Lapid
This is entirely self-inflicted. The charedim boast about their poverty. They brag about "being Moser Nefesh for Torah"... They refuse to work. They refuse to teach Limudei Chol (secular subjects) in charedi schools. They promote the universal kollel for life system. This is the inevitable result. Now it's time to face the music & live with the consequences of this crazy system...
ReplyDeleteThe Israeli charedi modern kollel system has only been around for about the last 30 years -- since Menachem Begin. As long as the Israeli government propped up charedi society with cash and subsidies, the charedi "leadership" insisted on perpetuating and perpetrating the unsustainable status quo. They refused to negotiate & refused any changes to the status quo -- to their "holy" "system".
Now that the medina is finally cutting off the welfare and subsidies for the charedi community, change will come, as long-term kollel for-the-masses crashes on the rocks of economic reality. Now that the UTJ politicians & Litvish Rosh Yeshivas are no longer able to bribe the charedi rank-and-file to stay in kollel forever, the kollel lifestyle won't be nearly as attractive. In short, the kollel system is collapsing ... and with it, perhaps, the entire charedi society -- the shidduch system & the entire social structure...
The Israeli charedi kollel system is collapsing in front of our eyes. If you think it's bad now, you've seen nothing yet; it will get much worse. We are only 5 months into the budget cuts; further cuts are coming in January; and we haven't even discussed the new charedi draft law that will be passed by the Knesset in the next few weeks...
Poverty will never break the Chareidi spirit. Even if benefits are cut off. They will never change their lifestyle. Even at cost of poverty.
ReplyDeleteif the average chareidi father and mother, rav, rosh yeshiva, and manhig hador is OK with living in dire poverty, who am i to argue?
Deleteyou did hear that shas signed with the government about accepting government oversight, core curriculum, and proper management?
LOL... They are already changing...and it's only 5 months (of budget cuts) so far... It's a gradual process... Imagine in another few months/years what charedi society will look like...
DeleteDoes anyone think that charedim make decisions irregardless of financial considerations? ... Charedim are rational - just like everyone else... They need to put food on the table, pay their rent, pay their bills... Wait and see...
See JPost ... "Piron: 20 haredi schools have signed up to teach core curriculum studies"... and more and more charedi males are leaving kollel & joining the workforce... Lapid's budget cuts are working...
Well, it may (and is) leading to a new haskalah movement. The difference between this OTD and the previous haskalah, is that 200 years ago, there were so many iluim who were learning, that when they left they became great thinkers in the secular world. Today, when an ilui is very hard to come across, so the OTD movement is not anything remarkable in terms of output, just a lot of malcontented secular, ex frum people.
ReplyDeletethe solution is to abolish the draft and allow everyone to legally go to work. there is no inherent difference bbetween chareidim in israel and america and if allowed to work without first being forced to pointlessly kill Arabs most of them will choose to work just like they do here.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point, Dovy.
DeleteStarting in a few weeks...until 2017...all charedim in yeshiva will be given a permanent exemption from the army...and will be allowed to leave yeshiva & go to college or join the workforce...
DeleteThen we will see how many of them want to work... There are estimates that 30% of charedim would leave yeshiva overnight if they were allowed to... No wonder the Litvishe Rosh Yeshivos -- and Degel politicians -- are scared...
In a few weeks the shtetl walls will be lifted...
thank you dovy for showing that the frum don't learn l'shem talmud torah but to simply get out of the army.
DeleteBen W.: For good reason the frum seek to avoid army duty. Because the Israeli Army is full of immorality. And the frum oppose zionism.
DeleteSo, yes, even if we wouldn't be learning in yeshiva we still oppose the army.
you can only make these statements if you assume that someone doesn't know the difference between the bnei brak and williamsburg.
DeleteBREAKING NEWS! Shas’ Mayan Chinuch Education Network has accepted the core curriculum in exchange for full funding! 35,000 Sephardi charedi students will now learn Limudei Chol! Shai Piron's defunding of charedi schools that refused to teach secular subjects has paid off in a big way... The Ashkenazi charedim are now marginalized & isolated...
ReplyDeleteSee YWN ... "Shas Cuts a Deal to Accept Secular Subjects in Schools"
Shas’ Mayan Chinuch Education Network has made the move, apparently in light of bleak fiscal realities. It has signed a deal with the Ministry of Education and Finance Ministry that will introduce a secular curriculum into its schools, permitting its schools to receive full state funding. The deal was signed by Mayan Chinuch CEO Yosef Buso, which commits the Sephardi chareidi education network to full transparency towards the government ministries as well as agreeing to comply with the education curriculum prepared by state education officials.[...]