My community, the haredim in Israel, are victims of our own success. After the Shoah, the Chazon Ish set the goal to rebuild the Torah world that Hitler destroyed, and we have succeeded spectacularly. There are now more yeshivot and men learning Torah around the world than there were before the Holocaust. So, now what? Working and serving.
The haredi community in Israel has achieved demographic growth and political influence. We are seeing increasing numbers of haredi doctors, lawyers, scientists, and hi-tech entrepreneurs contributing to Israel’s society and economy, along with haredi NPOs like United Hatzalah, Yad Sarah, Zaka, Ezer Mitzion, Matnat Haim, and Yedidim – to name just a few. There is a strong culture of volunteering and a willingness to contribute to Israeli society but a reluctance to serve in the IDF.
My community is run according to Jewish law – Halacha – and has strong ethical codes that make it difficult for our sons and daughters to serve in the Israeli army. I have discussed this with senior IDF officers, who recognize the challenges – particularly since more secular women are enlisting.
In many cases, joining the IDF means that a young haredi man must disconnect from his family and his community. So, lowering the army exemption age, as currently proposed, will not impact the number of haredim who serve. However, it will lower the age barrier for entry into the Israeli workforce (from age 27) and unlock the gates to the workforce and to higher education.
Lowering the haredi exemption age will boost Israel's economy
Currently, due to the Tal Law, haredi men are required to stay in yeshiva and prohibited from working or studying in academic institutions until the age of 27. This block impedes their ability to support their families and to pay income tax. When this law is changed, the Economy Ministry looks forward to opening more vocational training and academic preparatory programs for young haredi men, who will become an important asset to the economy. But the journey from yeshiva to academia is a tough one.
I grew up in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea She’arim and was not taught English, math, or even Hebrew. At age 20, I started to learn these subjects by myself, and it was extremely difficult. Many haredim try, and fail, to catch up on 12 years of secular education as adults – it’s a tall mountain to climb.
After I attained my masters’ degree in public policy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, I decided to set up a yeshiva high school for haredi boys so that they could start earlier and overcome the barriers to higher education more easily.
Today, the Netzach Educational Network comprises 12 schools, with three more opening this fall. All of our high school students graduate with full matriculation certificates in math, English, and science, and many have won national prizes for their exceptionally high grades.
Our Netzach/Machon Lev Pre-Medical Mechina program opened in March, which prepares haredi students for admission to medical schools. Our Eshkolot online school has over 22,000 haredi students studying core curriculum subjects in the evenings and over yeshiva breaks. These students will be ready to enter higher education or the professional job market as soon as the new army exemption law allows them to leave yeshiva.
The demographic necessity for programs like these is clear. By 2040, over 25% of Israel’s population will be haredi. If they cannot contribute to Israel’s dynamic digital economy, the burden will overwhelm the country.
We need to open more Netzach schools so that more haredi children can become active participants in Israeli society. But the haredi world is extremely conservative and allergic to the word “change.” Our leadership is not interested in any long-term investment in generational change that will likely reduce their future support bases. They are more concerned with funding handouts for their constituents than in empowering them to make independent choices.
But change is coming from within the community at grass-roots levels. All the Netzach schools are oversubscribed, with four applicants for every space. We see the impact of exciting projects such as RavTech and AvraTech, funded by the JDC, where haredi men can learn computer programming alongside their yeshiva studies.
Haredi women are already working, and we are slowly seeing more haredi men entering the workforce. There is a quiet revolution taking place in Israel’s haredi community.
You won’t hear about it from our politicians, but please don’t underestimate our willingness and our commitment to contribute to Israeli society. ■
Menachem Bombach is an educator and entrepreneur, rosh yeshiva of HaMidrasha HaHassidit in Beitar Illit, and founder and CEO of Netzach Educational Network.