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| Jordan Peterson and Benjamin Netanyahu (VIN) |
Needless to say that was not a popular move among Charedim. But that wasn’t all Netanyahu did that year As noted by VIN:
…his extreme economic steps as finance minister in 2003 had been so unpopular and had led him to political obscurity for a number of years.
But now some 20 years later his efforts then are being praised even by some members of opposition parties. Be that as it may, with respect to financial support for Charedim it is ironic that he seems to have done a 180 this time around. He has given the Charedi parties just about everything they asked for in order to get them to join his governing coalition.
This should not come as a surprise to anyone that knows Bibi. He a politician who can change his policies in an instant if it serves his political purposes. Which in his case is all about returning to power.
Does that make him a liar? Of course it does. Same as just about almost any other politician that ever walked the face of this earth. But unlike some, he actually cares for the overall welfare of his country and tries mightily to accomplish that – even as his critics see his polices undermining that goal.
How might Netanyahu explain his change of heart - or as his critics might say - rationalize it? He would probably say that those are minor concessions compared to the larger issues facing his country. And that by returning to power he will be able to implement polices that will better deal with those issues than they have been dealt with under the last government.
I am absolutely convinced that despite his oversized ego, Netanyahu loves his country and would never do anything to undermine it. (I’m sure many of his critics would disagree and say he would sell out his country in a New York minute if it would keep him in power. But that he keeps getting re-elected shows that the Israeli electorate feels otherwise.) Whether his methods are the right ones or not is a matter of debate. But that is not the subject of this post.
Which is the following. Was his comment about Charedim accurate? Or was it simply the same old anti Charedi trope about the Charedi world – that is far from true.
I don’t think the answer is so simple. If one goes back to the time he was referring to, it was probably more accurate then than it would be today. Certainly the unchanged philosophy of the Charedi world in Israel is that the primary goal of every Jew should be to learn Torah full time for as long as possible. And to be supported by those who for some reason do work. Much of it in the form of taxpayer money.
I’m not sure how true that is today. While the Charedi philosophy has not changed, the reality has. And to the extent that it has, Charedi leadership isn’t trying all that hard to reverse it.
If I am not mistaken there has been a substantial increase in the number of Charedim that actually work these days Even though they are considered 2nd class citizens in a philosophical sense, in reality they are left alone and not - to the best of my knowledge - overtly criticized by the Charedi leadership.
There are indeed a lot of programs available for Charedim that allow them to catch up with their secular counterparts or train them in specific fields such as high tech. And thereby enabling them to compete for the same jobs. A fact often touted by Charedi politicians to dispel the the notion that Charedim are an unfair burden on the economy. If I understand correctly their numbers in the workplace are increasing. But so too are the numbers who learn Torah full time. Which doesn’t really change the equation.
Assuming that the number of Charedim learning full time are indeed increasing primarily because the are encouraged to have large families, is it fair to criticize Netanyahu’s thinking - if not the way he said it?
I am not suggesting that the Charedi community have less children. It is not my place to do that. People ought to have the right to have as many children as they want. (Although they ought not have the right to demand taxpayer support for them. That is a subject all unto itself. But it is beyond the scope of this post.)
But as I always say, facts are stubborn things. If there is a large and growing the segment of population that is unproductive in terms of contributing to the economy – requiring an increase in the percentage of the budget that is allocated to them, it was not incorrect for Netanyahu to make that obvious calculation.
Having increasingly large families and expecting the government to support their increased numbers learning Torah full time is a big ask. One that is understandably under attack by much of the secular working and taxpaying public. It a problem that seeks a solution. I’m not sure that the increased numbers of working Charedim sufficiently addresses that problem.
If Charedim in Israel continue to experience the kind of exponential growth it has had heretofore a lot more of them will have to go to work for the Israeli economy to continue flourishing.
That the Charedi leadership does not see – or chooses not to see that obvious equation is the problem. One that might have a chance at being corrected if they change their educational paradigm to include a mandatory program of Limudei Chol through high school and beyond. It is more than high time for their leadership to realize this and finally do something about it.
