Jerusalem – A new initiative to help Haredim learn English has gained significant interest in the Haredi community.
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Avigdor Rabinovich, CEO of Avodot LaHaredim which assists Haredim in finding employment, posted an announcement last week on the whatsapp smartphone application, which is widely used in the haredi world, asking if people from the ultra-Orthodox community were interested in learning English.
Some 950 people signed up within 24 hours and 1,500 signed have signed up so far.
Upon receiving the deluge of applications, Rabinovich turned to former MK Rabbi Dov Lipman for assistance in establishing a project to address these many requests. Lipman was head of a Knesset task force to help Haredim enter the workforce and has remained closely involved in the effort to help Haredim receive training and find jobs.
The project now needs one thing – English speakers who are willing to volunteer and give 15 minutes a day to speak in English with on the phone. No teacher training or education background is necessary. Each volunteer will be matched with a course participant, with a commitment to speak for 15 minutes every day.
“One of the greatest obstacles that haredim meet when they seek employment is their inability to speak English,” said Lipman. “This commitment of speaking the language 15 minutes a day, alongside other projects which we have established, will empower thousands of Haredim to gain this critical skill and will help them enter the workforce.
“I cannot say it in any other way – 15 minutes a day of a someone’s help can in the long term assist a Haredi family to leave poverty and empower parents to support their families with dignity.”
Rabinovich said he anticipated “tens of thousands” of haredi men and women would seek this service. “Haredim are thirsty for tutoring in English as they try to enter the workforce and support their families with dignity,” he said.
English speakers who want to volunteer for this project can send an email to [email protected] with their name, address, cell phone number, and email address. The staff will be in touch and connect volunteers with Haredim to establish their daily study times.
Ha ha. Like speaking English translated to parnasah. Plenty of fluent English speakers who are quite poor, both here and in Israel.
They should teach them English here also, but the rabbonim won’t allow it.
If they want a parnasa altitudes must change. Society has to stop this notion that everyone must learn in kollel or you are in the dog house. They have to create an atmosphere that encourges the yungerlit that need parnasa to go to work. That includes more people attending PCS/ Cope like college courses. It includes a willingness to work with frei and those not dressed so tznuis like we do here in the USA. It includes using filtered internet. It includes stopping this altitude that the tzionim are out to get us. And while some american charedim hire and outsource in EY its mostly low level jobs for ladies. How about hiring more high level better paying jobs for men even if it cost more?
By the way under the new law men already pver 24 can work with zero that means NO ARMY service required.