Israel – Governor of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer presented data to the government indicating the poverty rate among haredim and Arabs in Israel has increased by 50% in the past decade. Meanwhile, the poverty rate has not risen among the general population, remaining at 13%.
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Fisher explained these statistics have to do with the fact that most men work in professions that do not earn anything from the market growth, as apposed to the fields of high-tech and other services. Fisher offered an example and said that the rate of construction workers among the Arab populations is 45% compared to 22% in the Jewish population.
These statistics are frightening and demonstrate that poverty and unemployment are greater existensial threats to EY that terrorism. For the arab population, the poverty is a least partially understandable given all the employment, mobility and housing restrictions imposed on EY’s arab residents in the name of “security”. For the Chareidi population, however, the threat is much higher since they willingly choose not to obtain the schooling and vocational education needed to participate in the labor force and also lack the social skills needed to work in modern society. Their conscious decision to starve and live in poverty for their own personal value and religious agneda threatens the survival of the medinah and they are the fastest growing segment of the population.
No government policy can really change the situation when the Charedi lifestyle is to blame for their own fate. Torah never required Jews to chose life of poverty and shun secular education that help you gain skills to earn you a decent paycheck. Nor did Torah ever dictate that men should sit around in shuls most of their adult lives, and force their wives to support the “tzadik” learning Torah all day when there are 10 kids that need to be fed. And then people wonder why most Israelis are not turned on by religious lifestyle. 50% poverty increase in a 1st world country is a tragic way of life, when the general population manages to keep it consistent at 13%.
I’ve got a novel idea that will get them out of poverty & also contribute to society…. go & work!
If you don’t get a useful education, don’t serve in the military, don’t take most jobs and have a large family what can you expect?
That’s because the general population works or tries to.
I hate to say it, but it is time to turn off the tap! My generation created this problem. 20% of us stayed on to learn and become leaders, teachers, etc. while 80% of us went to work. We made plenty of money but most of us wished we could have spent more time learning. So, many pushed their children to learn longer and forgo a quality education. What a horrible mistake.
When I was young, Rebbaim would see those who had that “special” something and keep them around while suggesting that the rest get an education or learn a trade. We did it, so the 80% could easily support the 20%.
Now it is practically the opposite. Our community today relies on government handouts and begging for survival. Why? Because we forgot the reasons WHY we were sent out to work… SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT! Period.
I did not have the right temperament to become a Rebbe, or to have a career in “clergy” (for lack of a better English word). My Rebbe was not afraid to tell me that. He was not afraid to tell me all the things that he thought I would be GOOD at to give me direction.
Somehow, we all forgot that the “earners” are as important and respectable as the “learners”. We need both.
It is not an ALL or NOTHING circumstance and never had to be! Are you more frum because you study 24/7, maybe I comprehend more in half the time? Whatever the case, we are all capable of dividing our lives up into healthy proportions to continue generations of proud, bright, studious, leaders of Judaism throughout the world.
I wonder how many of these children later go off the derech due to extreme deprivation. I wonder how many need to later steal to survive out of desperation. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the Chofetz Chaim ZT”L work withhis wife in a grocery store? I think that the problem is also that one needs to have been in the army (considered unacceptable) to get hired in EY, unless they open their own Mom and Pop operation. Who has all that capital to launch sucessful businesses for their 8-12 or more children when they become of age (after a few years and a few kids in Kollel)?
The fact is qualified teachers are in a shortage. One year or two years of seminary is not intense enough to produce qualified teachers. Conoco, Intel, GE all have subsidiaries in E.Y. and need and will need skilled workers.TEVA is one of the largest supplier of generic medications in then U.S. The problem with a job is that you must keep a schedule, and maybe work on a taanis and occasionally hunt for an early minyan if you have to come in early. There is something else and that is called self-esteem which disappear whether the handouts are government generated or family .
A big deterrent is the fact that if you want to leave Yeshiva, you often end up in the Army first.
Its a shame because in our times, there are so many programs for Bnei Torah, both in the USA and EY, to study for an education, while also learning. One need not sacrifice one for the other. Some examples are YU, Touro, Machon Lev, just to name a few.