Paying Lip Service to Chareidi Employment

Israeli political and economic leaders have long labored under the illusion that chareidim don’t want to work. This, combined with the fact that chareidim are the fastest-growing segment of the country’s Jewish population, has led these leaders to the panicked conclusion that something must be done to avert economic catastrophe.

That something includes counterproductive measures like a forced draft — which theoretically removes the barrier of army service that has kept chareidim out of the work force — and attempts to impose a core curriculum in chareidi schools. What it doesn’t include is an honest look at what’s really keeping chareidim out of the workplace, or confining them to low-paying jobs, and what can be done about it.

A survey released earlier this week by the Economics Ministry’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sheds light on the problem. It found that over a third of employers (37 percent) expressed reluctance to employ chareidi men (if 37 percent expressed such reluctance, you can imagine how many feel and act on it).

Furthermore, 13 percent were unwilling to employ married women with small children. This obviously discriminates more against the chareidi sector, whose working-age women are much more likely to be married with small children.

Tziona Koenig-Yair, an EEOC official, notes that “the survey data raises serious questions about the attitudes of the public in general and employers in particular.” She adds that despite the fact that most respondents have received higher education — and should be less inclined to buy into stereotypes — their decisions were based on prejudice, especially regarding chareidi and Arab men.

But before addressing the attitudes and prejudices in the private sector, the government would do well to examine its own prejudices.

For instance, it has consistently refused to honor degrees and licenses offered by the Bais Yaakov post-high school system, even though the graduates are as qualified as those who attend similar programs offered by standard colleges.

As United Torah Judaism MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni pointed out recently, the Israel Tax Authority has refused to certify graduates of Bais Yaakov as tax advisers, even though they have been accredited in a process that culminates with exams similar to the regular matriculation tests.

“They learn math, physics and biology,” Rabbi Gafni said. “But they are not granted certification and do not become tax advisers, even though everyone admits they’re better than others.”

Obviously, the lack of officially recognized credentials limits job opportunities and salaries.

(And it’s ironic that while many universities in the United States and other Western countries grant some credits for yeshivah studies, Israel refuses to do so, making it more difficult for married men to complete their degrees.)

The government, to its credit, has opened up an array of educational frameworks for chareidi men and women in fields ranging from law to architecture. But it hasn’t used its position as the country’s number one employer to help chareidim break through the prejudice barrier and get their first jobs.

MK Rabbi Yaakov Asher recently related in the Knesset plenum how he had learned that the Treasury was opening up a new department and needed 300 workers who had completed training as tax advisers. Rabbi Asher spread the news among the chareidi public and received hundreds of résumés, which he personally handed to Deputy Finance Minister Mickey Levy.

“The deputy finance minister promised me that he would handle it personally,” Rabbi Asher related. “He said he would give them priority, but that in any event at least some would be accepted for work. In the end, not a single chareidi candidate was accepted. All the talk about integrating chareidim into the workplace is just talk. They don’t mean it seriously.”

Confirming Rabbi Asher’s assessment was the Knesset’s refusal last December to approve a bill that would have mandated affirmative action for chareidim. Similar legislation has helped Israeli Arabs, who constituted 6.6 percent of new government hires in 2006 and 11.7 percent in 2009 (percentages that chareidim can only dream of).

In presenting the bill, which was rejected by a vote of 40–24, MK Rabbi Meir Porush cited a government report that chareidi job-seekers with equal academic qualification were granted fewer job interviews than applicants from the non-chareidi public.

It’s important to stress that Rabbi Porush’s bill would have only applied to candidates who were fully qualified. Moreover, while affirmative action may have negative connotations in some circles, he was only asking that chareidi candidates be offered jobs in keeping with their percentage in the public.

It is unconscionable that people who obtain the training and credentials they need to get a job, are denied the opportunity to do so because of prejudice against chareidim.

This article appeared in print on page 42 of the April 2nd, 2014 edition of Hamodia.