The heads of the Charedi parties (especially Deri and Liztman) have been going around and proclaiming that they are done with the Likud and Netanyahu and that they will be working to make Yitzchak Herzog, the head of the Labor party the next Prime Minister of Israel.
However, lets take a look at some of the positions of Labor and Herzog:
1. Draft of Charedim - Labor and Herzog are in favor, in fact, Herzog said that he would have voted in favor of the current draft bill that includes criminal sanctions.
2. Women's right - Labor and Herzog were in the forefront against הדרת נשים and are opposed to mehadrin buses.
3. Reform Rabbis - Labor and Herzog support the state recognizing Reform Rabbis and ending the Orthodoc monopoly on Judaism.
4. The "Peace Process" - Labor and Herzog have always pushed for the "peace process" and a Palestinian state and they have no problem with dividing Jerusalem.
...
On other words, it is clear that Labor not only does not support the Charedim on their big issues, but in fact, Labors positions on these issues are probably worse for the Charedim then the Likud. If so, why are the Charedi MKs pushing Herzog? The answer would seem to be petty revenge. They are very upset with Netanyahu and believe that he betrayed them so they want to take revenge on him. The problem is that they are cutting off their noses to spite their faces.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Is there causality between the number of full time Torah learners and the results of Israel's wars?
R' Yair Hoffman posted the following chart which he claimed showed that the correlation of loss of life of IDF soldiers r”l in the wars to the amount of Yeshiva students studying in Yeshiva, shows a clear inverse relationship: the more students in yeshiva, the less loss of life.
Based on the chart above one can make the argument that as the number of full time learners mushroomed the outcomes of the wars became progressively worse.
| Name of War | Total loss of life, r”l | # of Yeshiva Students in Israel |
| 1948 | 6373 | 400 |
| 1967 | 796 | 600 |
| 1973 | 2656 | 800 |
| 1982 Lebanon War | 725 | 12,150 |
| 2006 Lebanon War | 165 | 51,084 |
| 2012 Operation Cast Lead | 13 | 66,000 |
Clearly, the number of lives lost is only 1 factor in the success or failure of a war and is very much dependent on who you are fighting and what kind of war. Fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza should lead to fewer casualties then fighting an all out war against multiple Arab armies armed with the latest weapons. Therefore, the fact that only 13 soldiers were killed in Operation Cast Lead does not show anything about the efficacy of Torah learning, the low number of casualties was expected based on the military situation. In fact, IMHO a much better barometer is the actual outcome of the war and if we use that as our measure of Torah learnings protection we come to the opposite conclusion.
| Name of War | Outcome of War | # of Yeshiva Students in Israel |
| 1948 | Miraculous Victory | 400 |
| 1967 | Miraculous Victory | 600 |
| 1973 | Hard fought painful victory | 800 |
| 1982 Lebanon War | Not a clear cut victory, led to an almost 20 year occupation of Southern Lebanon | 12,150 |
| 2006 Lebanon War | Draw | 51,084 |
| 2012 Operation Cast Lead | Marginal at Best | 66,000 |
Is any of this conclusive? Of course not, but I think that my analysis makes a lot more sense then R' Hoffman's.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Why the 3rd Beis Hamikdash will come down from Heaven
The Tolna Rebbe had a fascinating (and humurous) explanation of why the 3rd Beis Hamikdash will come down from Heaven.
Picture for yourselves how this Bais Hamikdash will be built. Let me tell you what is going to happen.
“The first ones who will enter the picture will be Agudas Yisroel who will say ‘Of course we are the ones who will build the Bais Hamikdash. We are the ones who worry about all the needs of the chareidi community. Is there any doubt that we should be the ones in charge?’ They will convene a whole assembly of gedolim in order to decide what needs to be done.
“Meanwhile, R’ Meir Porush will come and say, ‘And what about me? The Agudah represents everyone? I want this to be under my auspices.’ And then there will be a second group of Rabbonim discussing how to build the Bais Hamikdash.
“The Litvaks will come next and they will start to scream. ‘Gevald! The chasidism should build the Bais Hamikdash? They will all be dancing because they don’t know anything about the actual halachos of building the Bais Hamikdash. They will offer to find one Kohein who actually knows the halachos of the avoda. But they will tell us: “for this part, you are going to need the Kollel Chazon Ish. For that part you are going to need the avreichim in Brisk.” What are you, crazy? We will build the Bais Hamikdash.’
“Then will come Satmar, from both sides, and they will say, ‘You are all Zionists! You are unfit to build the Bais Hamikdash.’
“The Chabadniks will also get involved. ‘You are all crazy! Moshiach is ours! It is our Rebbe, our Moshiach, what are you talking about the Bais Hamikdash? You are all insane.’
This is so true, it is hard to believe that a Chasidic Rebbe would say this.
Source: Jerusalem - Tolna Rebbe: Why We Won't Be Able To Build The Third Bais Hamikdash On Our Own
Picture for yourselves how this Bais Hamikdash will be built. Let me tell you what is going to happen.
“The first ones who will enter the picture will be Agudas Yisroel who will say ‘Of course we are the ones who will build the Bais Hamikdash. We are the ones who worry about all the needs of the chareidi community. Is there any doubt that we should be the ones in charge?’ They will convene a whole assembly of gedolim in order to decide what needs to be done.
“Meanwhile, R’ Meir Porush will come and say, ‘And what about me? The Agudah represents everyone? I want this to be under my auspices.’ And then there will be a second group of Rabbonim discussing how to build the Bais Hamikdash.
“The Litvaks will come next and they will start to scream. ‘Gevald! The chasidism should build the Bais Hamikdash? They will all be dancing because they don’t know anything about the actual halachos of building the Bais Hamikdash. They will offer to find one Kohein who actually knows the halachos of the avoda. But they will tell us: “for this part, you are going to need the Kollel Chazon Ish. For that part you are going to need the avreichim in Brisk.” What are you, crazy? We will build the Bais Hamikdash.’
“Then will come Satmar, from both sides, and they will say, ‘You are all Zionists! You are unfit to build the Bais Hamikdash.’
“The Chabadniks will also get involved. ‘You are all crazy! Moshiach is ours! It is our Rebbe, our Moshiach, what are you talking about the Bais Hamikdash? You are all insane.’
This is so true, it is hard to believe that a Chasidic Rebbe would say this.
Source: Jerusalem - Tolna Rebbe: Why We Won't Be Able To Build The Third Bais Hamikdash On Our Own
Thursday, February 20, 2014
A different take on the new draft law for Charedim
If you read the Charedi press today it seems like a terrible day. The headlines in the Charedi press are all doom and gloom and say things like "A day that will be remembered in infamy." However, the fact is that the law that was passed was actually quite generous to the Charedim.
The law states that in the summer of 2017 the Charedi world must supply 5200 soldiers, sounds like a lot, however, this is from a potential group of 50,000. Of course this is only in 3 years, for the next 3 years there is complete peace and quiet, no draft whatsoever. Additionally, if there aren't 5200 soldiers in 2017, the law gives an extension of 6 months before any criminal sanctions take place. Last but not least, 3 years is a long time in Israel and there will most probably be a new government before then which can of course change the law.
The bottom line is that this law is actually quite favourable to the Charedim. If that is so, why the gloom and doom? The answer is very simple, it serves the Charedi interests. It creates unity and a common enemy and preserves the notion of us against them, the Charedim vs the evil Israeli government.
Source: החרדים דווקא מרוצים מחוק הגיוס החדש
The law states that in the summer of 2017 the Charedi world must supply 5200 soldiers, sounds like a lot, however, this is from a potential group of 50,000. Of course this is only in 3 years, for the next 3 years there is complete peace and quiet, no draft whatsoever. Additionally, if there aren't 5200 soldiers in 2017, the law gives an extension of 6 months before any criminal sanctions take place. Last but not least, 3 years is a long time in Israel and there will most probably be a new government before then which can of course change the law.
The bottom line is that this law is actually quite favourable to the Charedim. If that is so, why the gloom and doom? The answer is very simple, it serves the Charedi interests. It creates unity and a common enemy and preserves the notion of us against them, the Charedim vs the evil Israeli government.
Source: החרדים דווקא מרוצים מחוק הגיוס החדש
Monday, February 10, 2014
Sunday, February 09, 2014
Cults in the Charedi world?
To my great surprise Mishpacha magazine (Hebrew) had a long article about cults in the Charedi world. They describe how charismatic individuals who seemt o know kabbala suck people in and take charge of their lives. They detailed how a Rosh Kollel got sucked in by a charismatic leader who spouted kabbala and seemed to know things about the Rosh Kollel. The leader then proceeded to take command of the Rosh Kollel's life in terms of decision making, all decisions had to be run by the leader etc. and of course the leader found ways to extract money until his family extricated him.
The writer of the article asked the obvious question, how is this different then Chasidim (or today even non-Chasidim) who ask the Rebbe before making any decision and of course contribute financially to the Rebbe? The answer given was not very satisfying to me and leaves the question very much open to me.
Take a look at the picture below of the Satmar Rebbes vacation villa in Miami Beach Florida. Keep in mind that Kiryas Yoel is the poorest town in the United States.
Also take a look at my post The richest Rabbis in Israel. When you combine the money with the societal pressure to conform and stay in the fold (e.g. משמרת הצניעות), it is hard to see the difference.
The writer of the article asked the obvious question, how is this different then Chasidim (or today even non-Chasidim) who ask the Rebbe before making any decision and of course contribute financially to the Rebbe? The answer given was not very satisfying to me and leaves the question very much open to me.
Take a look at the picture below of the Satmar Rebbes vacation villa in Miami Beach Florida. Keep in mind that Kiryas Yoel is the poorest town in the United States.
Also take a look at my post The richest Rabbis in Israel. When you combine the money with the societal pressure to conform and stay in the fold (e.g. משמרת הצניעות), it is hard to see the difference.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
The success of Charedi Kiruv
Jonathan Rosenblum wrote about the success of Charedi kiruv in this past weeks Mishpacha magazine. However, his description of how they are successful is very troubling:
I would agree that neither ignorance nor poverty are major selling points for Torah.
...
involves frequent lectures from Orthodox Jews who have achieved prominence in fields to which the students might aspire. The subliminal message is: Becoming shomer Torah u'mitzvos does not require eschewing the career to which you previously aspired.
The problem is that it is a big lie. All of the examples that they bring are either Baalei Teshiva or people who were brought up in a more Modern home. Using these people as examples of how well religious Jews can fit into society is very misleading when the institutions/mekarvim themselves don't believe in that hashkafa. According to Charedi hashkafa, University study is prohibited and any secular study is very much discouraged, yet those are the examples they site when trying to be mekarev people. If a Baal Teshuva raises his children in a Charedi environment it means that his children cannot follow in his career path or any secular career path because they won't learn any secular studies in school.
Aish Hatorah published a similar article, Women at Work, a few years ago which claimed that Orthodox women can work at any job that they want.
Let's get something perfectly clear: Jewish women work. One of my neighbors is a nuclear physicist. I'm a zoo veterinarian.
...
And nowadays, like women all over the Western world, they work in every field. Some run their own businesses or are part of a larger corporation. Here in Israel one of my neighbors is a nuclear physicist. Another is a school principal. Several good friends are lawyers. One's a pediatrician. Two are successful artists. I'm a zoo veterinarian.
...
My point is, little is forbidden to us. We work in the fields we want. We have open choices. We can choose to work part-time or full-time.
Again we see the big lie. Aish Hatorah is a Charedi institution and it's goal for it's students is that they join Israeli Charedi society. The fact is that if Elizabeth had been born to a Charedi family she would not have had a choice to be a veterinarian, a nuclear physicist or anything other then a school teacher. University study is strictly prohibited. In Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak even getting a high school diploma is prohibited. As I mentioned above, all the women that she brings as examples fall into one of 2 categories:
1. Baalei teshuva
2. They grew up in modern homes
None of the women cited grew up in a Charedi home in Israel, because if they had they would not be where they are today.
Charedi kiruv may be successful in attracting the initial generation, however, it is not at all clear that it is successful with the next generation.
I would agree that neither ignorance nor poverty are major selling points for Torah.
...
involves frequent lectures from Orthodox Jews who have achieved prominence in fields to which the students might aspire. The subliminal message is: Becoming shomer Torah u'mitzvos does not require eschewing the career to which you previously aspired.
The problem is that it is a big lie. All of the examples that they bring are either Baalei Teshiva or people who were brought up in a more Modern home. Using these people as examples of how well religious Jews can fit into society is very misleading when the institutions/mekarvim themselves don't believe in that hashkafa. According to Charedi hashkafa, University study is prohibited and any secular study is very much discouraged, yet those are the examples they site when trying to be mekarev people. If a Baal Teshuva raises his children in a Charedi environment it means that his children cannot follow in his career path or any secular career path because they won't learn any secular studies in school.
Aish Hatorah published a similar article, Women at Work, a few years ago which claimed that Orthodox women can work at any job that they want.
Let's get something perfectly clear: Jewish women work. One of my neighbors is a nuclear physicist. I'm a zoo veterinarian.
...
And nowadays, like women all over the Western world, they work in every field. Some run their own businesses or are part of a larger corporation. Here in Israel one of my neighbors is a nuclear physicist. Another is a school principal. Several good friends are lawyers. One's a pediatrician. Two are successful artists. I'm a zoo veterinarian.
...
My point is, little is forbidden to us. We work in the fields we want. We have open choices. We can choose to work part-time or full-time.
Again we see the big lie. Aish Hatorah is a Charedi institution and it's goal for it's students is that they join Israeli Charedi society. The fact is that if Elizabeth had been born to a Charedi family she would not have had a choice to be a veterinarian, a nuclear physicist or anything other then a school teacher. University study is strictly prohibited. In Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak even getting a high school diploma is prohibited. As I mentioned above, all the women that she brings as examples fall into one of 2 categories:
1. Baalei teshuva
2. They grew up in modern homes
None of the women cited grew up in a Charedi home in Israel, because if they had they would not be where they are today.
Charedi kiruv may be successful in attracting the initial generation, however, it is not at all clear that it is successful with the next generation.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
How would you like to be called the "בדיעבד Ideal"?
The Mishpacha newspaper (Hebrew) had a long article about the American Aguda Yarchei Kalla in Yerushalayim. They interviewed one of the organizers who called himself a simple baal habayis. The newspaper described him as the ideal b'dieved, that if chas v'shalom you have to work (בדיעבד) and not sit in Kollel then he is the ideal as someone who works but learns seriously.
This is so typical of the Israeli Charedi hashkafa that anyone who is not sitting in kollel is בדיעבד.
The newspaper went on to quote Harav Asher Weiss who said that Israel needs more Baal Habatim like these from America, who work but also learn seriously. IMHO this will not happen if you call them בדיעבד. Once you give someone a negative connotation it is then very difficult to then ask them to try to grow spiritually as they feel that they are בדיעבד so there is no point.
This is so typical of the Israeli Charedi hashkafa that anyone who is not sitting in kollel is בדיעבד.
The newspaper went on to quote Harav Asher Weiss who said that Israel needs more Baal Habatim like these from America, who work but also learn seriously. IMHO this will not happen if you call them בדיעבד. Once you give someone a negative connotation it is then very difficult to then ask them to try to grow spiritually as they feel that they are בדיעבד so there is no point.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
R' Ovadya's oldest daughter might run for President of Israel
Adina Bar Shalom, R' Ovadya's oldest daughter is well known for pushing the boundaries. Twenty-five years ago, a philanthropist handed Rav Ovadiah a blank check to create an avenue for haredi women to receive the secular education they needed to earn enough to take their families out of poverty. At the time R' Ovadya did not agree. Bar-Shalom kept pushing her father to approve the idea until finally in 2000 she got the green light from her father to create such an institution. Today, there are about one thousand students in the Haredi College in Yerushalayim under her auspices.
Now she wants to run for President as the Shas candidate when Peres's term ends. This will create a big conundrum in Shas and the other Charedi parties. They have no women MKs and have no plans to have women MKs. They claim that women don't want to be in the public spotlight. A Charedi woman President would cause them a lot of problems and embarrassment. On the other hand, how can Shas not support the daughter of R' Ovadya?
It will be fascinating to see how this plays out over the next few months.
Source: Kikar Shabbat
Now she wants to run for President as the Shas candidate when Peres's term ends. This will create a big conundrum in Shas and the other Charedi parties. They have no women MKs and have no plans to have women MKs. They claim that women don't want to be in the public spotlight. A Charedi woman President would cause them a lot of problems and embarrassment. On the other hand, how can Shas not support the daughter of R' Ovadya?
It will be fascinating to see how this plays out over the next few months.
Source: Kikar Shabbat
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
The richest Rabbis in Israel
The net worth of the richest rabbis in Israel according to Channel 2 in Israel
Rav Pinchas Abuchatzeira 1.3 billion shekel
Rav David Abuchatzeira 750 million shekel
The Gerrer Rebbe 350 million shekel
The Belzer Rebbe 180 million shekel
Rav Nir Ben Artzi 100 million shekel
Rav Yaakov Ifergen 90 million shekel
Rav Yeshaya Pinto 75 million shekel
...
Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman 1200 shekel
Whatever anyone says about the Litvish world, the Litvish Gedolim truly have little or no money and live very simple life styles.
Rav Pinchas Abuchatzeira 1.3 billion shekel
Rav David Abuchatzeira 750 million shekel
The Gerrer Rebbe 350 million shekel
The Belzer Rebbe 180 million shekel
Rav Nir Ben Artzi 100 million shekel
Rav Yaakov Ifergen 90 million shekel
Rav Yeshaya Pinto 75 million shekel
...
Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman 1200 shekel
Whatever anyone says about the Litvish world, the Litvish Gedolim truly have little or no money and live very simple life styles.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
10% of the Charedi teenagers in Bnei Brak are OTD
So says Mishpacha in an interview with people who work for the city of Bnei Brak in this area. What is sad is that they say that many times the kids not only go OTD but become criminals, addicts, etc. and that their efforts are not to bring back the kids to religion but to turn them into functioning members of society. Yonasan Rosenblum has written a number of times recently that kids do better in an "out of town" type community where the majority is not religious (or less religious) then in a place like Bnei Brak where everyone is religious etc. These numbers seem to bear this out.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Hilchos Prison???
Believe it or not this is not a joke. This is actually a real sefer that came out not long ago dealing with people who are in prison.
As the cover above states it deals with the halachos that relate to someone in jail/prison as well mussar/chizuk, stories, and inspiration for the reader/prisoner.
How far have we fallen that someone would write such a sefer? How embarrassing is this to the Torah world?
Hat Tip: the Seforim Blog
What was the original status quo agreement in Israel regarding Charedi education?
Hamodia (English) is doing a series of explanatory articles about the Charedi world in Israel to explain to the US readers the background to the current situation and why it is so bad. This week they published a long article about the "status quo" agreement in 1947, that the new government would not change the status quo regarding religion. The very obvious implication being that the government today is trying to change the status quo. Here is an English translation of the letter sent to the Aguda:
What is absolutely fascinating is that the section of the letter dealing with education is exactly in tune with what the government is trying to do today. The letter states:
Full autonomy of each educational system. ... The state of course will determine the minimum obligatory courses, Hebrew language, history, science, etc. and will supervise compliance with this minimum ...
So in fact, even in 1947, the agreement was that the Charedi schools while having full autonomy, would teach the core curriculum and be supervised by the government. In other words, what the government is trying to do today is not against the original status quo but rather is trying to enforce it.
Friday, January 10, 2014
The Satmar Rebbe (R' Yoel) on Segulos for Parnassa
This past Tuesday was a big day for Segulos for parnassa, there were ads everywhere about reciting Parshas Haman as a segula for parnassa.
Here is the Satmar Rebbe's (R' Yoel) take. One time a chossid came in to the Rebbe with complaints about parnassa. He offered the explanation that maybe he wasn't doing all the segulos for parnassa. The Rebbe answered as follows:
"אלע סגילת איז גוט אובער נאך אכט אזיגער שוין צי די ארבעט"
Segulos are good but only until 8 in the morning, after 8 go to work
Thursday, January 09, 2014
Belzer Rebbe: Avreichim should learn a profession while in kollel
Belz recently had a conference about economic issues. The Belzer Rebbe sent a message to the conference that while Torah is the first priority, most Avreichim will not sit and learn their whole life but will at some point leave to make a living. The problem is that when they decide to leave kollel after x years they already have kids etc. and have no time to learn a profession. Therefore the Belzer Rebbe said that 1 or 2 afternoons a week the Avreichim should go and learn a profession and that they will not have any money deducted from their kollel stipend so that when they do leave kollel after x years they will have a profession and be able to work right away.
IMHO this is a great step forward both in the official recognition that not everyone is going to stay in kollel their whole life and the practical application of learning a profession while still in kollel.
The fact is that the Chasidic world has never really embraced the kollel only philosophy and has never looked down on people who work and therefore this is not such a big deal. It will be a big deal when the Yeshiva world comes to a similar conclusion.
Source: "אברך מחוץ לשעות הכולל - שילמד מקצוע"
IMHO this is a great step forward both in the official recognition that not everyone is going to stay in kollel their whole life and the practical application of learning a profession while still in kollel.
The fact is that the Chasidic world has never really embraced the kollel only philosophy and has never looked down on people who work and therefore this is not such a big deal. It will be a big deal when the Yeshiva world comes to a similar conclusion.
Source: "אברך מחוץ לשעות הכולל - שילמד מקצוע"
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
R' Ovadya's Shas is going to be auctioned off
They expect to get $40-50 thousand dollars for the set. See בשונה מהרכב: הגמרא של הגר"ע זצ"ל תוצע למכירה. As the article points out the family were very upset when the car that had been leased for him was sold for a lot of money, they complained that people were using R' Ovadya's name/legacy for profit, yet they seem to be have no problem making money selling his Shas.
Sunday, January 05, 2014
Are the budget cuts for Charedi schools in Israel really that egregious?
The Ashkenazi Charedi leadership has rejected the idea that the government have any control over what is learned in Haredi schools (the Sefardi schools seem to have accepted full government supervision in exchange for funding). Any government intervention/control is a gezeras shmad. Let us compare the Haredi schools in NY and those in Israel to see whether government mandates are really shmad.
The following table describes the current situation:
As we can see in NY State the government provides no funding and yet, mandates a standardized curriculum and standardized achievement tests. In Israel, on the other hand, the government provides partial funding but mandates no requirements.
Source for NY State Data: http://www2.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/regprivschl/regprivschl.pdf
The following table describes the current situation:
NY Haredi Schools
|
Israel Charedi Schools
| |
Budget from the Government
|
No
|
Yes 55% of public schools
|
Elementary School standardized tests
|
Yes
|
No
|
High School Standardized tests
|
Yes (Regents)
|
No (Bagrut)
|
State Curriculum
|
Yes Instruction given to a minor elsewhere than a public school must be substantially
equivalent to the instruction given at the local public school |
No
|
Option to opt out
|
No
|
Yes
|
As we can see in NY State the government provides no funding and yet, mandates a standardized curriculum and standardized achievement tests. In Israel, on the other hand, the government provides partial funding but mandates no requirements.
What is fascinating is that there is much more government control/intervention in the US then what is being proposed in Israel let alone what exists now. Yet no one is calling the US government evil and shmad.
I understand that in NY many of these rules/laws go unenforced and many Charedi schools actually teach very little secular studies. However, the fact that the laws are on the books is very important and at some point in the near future there is a good chance that they will be enforced.
Source for NY State Data: http://www2.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/regprivschl/regprivschl.pdf
What is telling is that this is not limited to Israel or the US. The government in Belgium recently passed a law that just went into effect that all schools without exception must teach the mandated secular studies curriculum (irrespective of whether they take government or not) and refusal to comply will be met with stiff fines and maybe even the removal of the children from the parents homes. The reason is very simple, 25 percent of Haredim are living below the poverty line, compared to less than 10 percent of the general population. The poverty caused mostly by the poor/non-existent secular education.
Monday, December 30, 2013
The Rebbes are not coming!!!
The trip has been cancelled for a whole host of reasons among them
- The Belzer Rebbe dxecided not to particpate personally
- Winter weather in NY
- They couldn't come to agreement with the American Rebbes to participate
- R' Shteinman never really backed the whole idea
The truth is I never understood what they hoped to accomplish with this and it is probably better that it was cancelled.
Poverty in Israel, why does no one care?
Israel has very high poverty rates for an OECD country, 23.5 percent, and yet the average middle class (and up) Israeli doesn't seem to care. The question is why not? Are middle class Israelis simply cruel and unfeeling? The answer according to the NY Times article, Israel's Undeserving Poor, is actually much more complex.
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.
...
to be blunt, Israelis know that Haredis and Arabs are disproportionately represented in the underground economy (namely, by evading taxes). Finally, to a large extent they are poor because of choices they make — preferring their traditions over participating in the modern Israeli economy. Simply put: For Haredi Jewish men, the choice is generally to study the Torah and have many children (while the women have to provide for the families). For Muslim Arabs, it is to keep women at home and have many children (while the men go to work).
...
For the comparatively well-to-do to care more about Israel’s poverty, they first have to be convinced that the necessary measures have been taken to eliminate poverty-by-choice.
...
Only when unemployed Haredi men and Arab women go to work and black-market tax evaders are forced to pay taxes will the middle and upper classes be more open to thinking about a redistribution of wealth. Right now, the majority of Israelis have good reason — or good excuse — to object to any redistributive attempts to take from them and give to others.
...
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.
There is no question in my mind that the article is correct. I see this attitude every day at work (hi tech). The people at work are upper middle class and are concerned citizens, but have no interest in transferring their hard earned money to people who they believe are poor by choice and are expecting to be supported by the government.
As I posted a while back (The cash machine that is the Israeli government) the Charedi population looks at the government as a cash machine, give us money and leave us alone. The budget is a zero sum game, whatever we can save and get for us great whatever doesn't go to us is basically lost. The Charedi population views itself as hardly using any government services no, schools, university, roads, police, jails, etc. (which is of course not true, they use the roads, health care, the army protects them etc). In addition, the Charedi population pays less in direct taxes because many people don't work, they are poor, and those who do work get a lot of money under the table and therefore when they get money from the government they don't look upon it as their tax money coming back to them. Because of this, the Charedi MKs are seemingly always trying to get more money for their constituents.
Until there is a fundamental shift (as the article states) attitudes are not going to change and poverty is not going to move people to action.
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.
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to be blunt, Israelis know that Haredis and Arabs are disproportionately represented in the underground economy (namely, by evading taxes). Finally, to a large extent they are poor because of choices they make — preferring their traditions over participating in the modern Israeli economy. Simply put: For Haredi Jewish men, the choice is generally to study the Torah and have many children (while the women have to provide for the families). For Muslim Arabs, it is to keep women at home and have many children (while the men go to work).
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For the comparatively well-to-do to care more about Israel’s poverty, they first have to be convinced that the necessary measures have been taken to eliminate poverty-by-choice.
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Only when unemployed Haredi men and Arab women go to work and black-market tax evaders are forced to pay taxes will the middle and upper classes be more open to thinking about a redistribution of wealth. Right now, the majority of Israelis have good reason — or good excuse — to object to any redistributive attempts to take from them and give to others.
...
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.
There is no question in my mind that the article is correct. I see this attitude every day at work (hi tech). The people at work are upper middle class and are concerned citizens, but have no interest in transferring their hard earned money to people who they believe are poor by choice and are expecting to be supported by the government.
As I posted a while back (The cash machine that is the Israeli government) the Charedi population looks at the government as a cash machine, give us money and leave us alone. The budget is a zero sum game, whatever we can save and get for us great whatever doesn't go to us is basically lost. The Charedi population views itself as hardly using any government services no, schools, university, roads, police, jails, etc. (which is of course not true, they use the roads, health care, the army protects them etc). In addition, the Charedi population pays less in direct taxes because many people don't work, they are poor, and those who do work get a lot of money under the table and therefore when they get money from the government they don't look upon it as their tax money coming back to them. Because of this, the Charedi MKs are seemingly always trying to get more money for their constituents.
Until there is a fundamental shift (as the article states) attitudes are not going to change and poverty is not going to move people to action.
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