IDI President Dr. Arye Carmon opened the conference, noting the need to integrate the ultra-Orthodox community into Israeli society, to promote dialogue between different sectors, to diminish the demonization of the haredi public, and to develop a shared vision in which "bridges" will be built to integrate members of the haredi community into the surrounding Israeli society. Dr. Carmon stressed IDI's willingness to work with the haredi community in promoting discourse about these issues in Israeli society.
SESSION ONE: CHANGES IN STUDY OF HAREDI SOCIETY
Professor Kimmy Caplan of the Department of Jewish History at Bar-Ilan University opened the first session by discussing the need to engage in historical research in order to understand processes and phenomena in the haredi community today. He argued that knowledge of history is essential for dealing with the future of the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel, as it facilitates an understanding of the possibility of entering the workforce, of the changes that have taken place in the leadership of the haredi community, and of the ultra-Orthodox community's assimilation of some of the values and practices of non-haredi society, whether in language, leisure, or consumerism. In his estimation, it is important to study the renewed emergence of the haredi middle class should be studied – a class that virtually disappeared with the creation of the “society of learners” in which haredi men devote themselves exclusively to Torah study, and which could have considerable implications were it to re-emerge.
Professor Tamar El-Or of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem described the daily lives of haredi women who are the second and third generation of wives in the “society of learners.” These women are living in a reality in which the ideal is for women to be the breadwinners while their husbands study Torah. According to of Professor El-Or, these women live in a society characterized by extreme poverty in which they must devote their energies to mere survival. As she understands it, the silent majority of the ultra-Orthodox community is waiting for a leader who will change the current norms. Professor El-Or also referred to the status of women in haredi society and to the pressure that is put on them to excel in the variety of roles designated for them. She also discussed the ideal of modesty and the impact of the strictures of haredi society on the ability of women to support their families.
Dr. Lee Kahaner of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Haifa University introduced participants to the new haredi spaces that have developed in the suburban ultra-Orthodox cities that have sprung up in response to the high rate of population growth in this community and the search for affordable housing. She raised questions about the creation of homogeneous cities specifically for the haredi community. These cities serve as enclaves that are characterized by inter-haredi hierarchical divisions, have an infrastructure for commerce, education, and employment that is suited to the haredi population, and seem to be operating as a state within a state.
In responding to the presentations in this session, Dr. Nissim Leon of the Department of Sociology at Bar-Ilan University discussed the basic assumptions that underlie research on the haredi community. Referring to the assertion that this community has reached a turning point, he suggested looking not only at the forces of transformation, but also at the conservative reactionary forces that are rigorously guarding the purity of haredi ideology.
SESSION TWO – EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION
Mr. Assaf Malchi, coordinator of the Ultra-Orthodox Division of the Economics and Research Authority of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, opened the second session with a review of the nature of employment in the haredi sector. As part of his presentation, he introduced data regarding demographics, employment, and the standard of living in the ultra-Orthodox community, and discussed barriers to the community's participation in the workforce. He explained that employment of haredi men is expected to increase rapidly over the next decade, employment rates among haredi women is expected to continue to grow at a slower pace, and the private sector will have to serve as a basis for expanding the employment of highly-qualified and professionally trained haredim.
Attorney Ariel Deri, Executive Director of the Haredi College of Jerusalem, presented information about the revolution of higher education in the ultra-Orthodox community. He opened his lecture by recounting the reasons for the community's change in attitude towards the academic world. These reasons include increasing economic pressure, growing recognition by rabbinic leaders of the need for qualified haredi professionals with formal vocational training, and growing diversity within the ultra-Orthodox community itself. In his assessment, the most important reason for the change in attitude towards higher education in the haredi community is the role that the state and other bodies have played in creating educational programs that are suited to the needs of the haredi community and in making higher such programs affordable. Accommodations that have been introduced to encourage higher education in the ultra-Orthodox community include the development of separate programs for men and women, provision of economic incentives to academic institutions that teach haredim, allocation of funds for tutoring and academic support, the establishment of specialized pre-army preparatory programs for haredim, and religious supervision of academic institutions. These steps play a vital role in gaining the trust of the haredi community in this complex and sensitive process. The presentation continued with a discussion of the members of the community who devote themselves exclusively to Torah study, with a focus on the characteristics of the people in this segment of the population, their agenda and priorities, and the barriers they face in entering the academic world.
According to Dr. Momi Dahan, who directs IDI's Inequality and Public Policy project, if the haredi community has indeed reached an economic turning point, at this stage, it is only a slight one. In his presentation, he noted that in the last four decades, the financial situation of the ultra-Orthodox community has deteriorated considerably, noting that at the start of the 21st century, government subsidies constituted about half the income of the average haredi family in Israel. The increasing economic dependence of the haredi community has created a lack of economic and social equilibrium, especially since the financial dependence of the ultra-Orthodox community developed in parallel to an intensification of conflict between secular and ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, as the secular community began to object to "carrying the haredim on its back." Dr. Dahan concluded that it is not clear whether the leadership of the haredi community has internalized the fact that it is impossible to develop economic dependence on a society that is opposed to providing such financial support; in his view, however, while the community's leadership may not be showing signs of change, it is possible that change is beginning to characterize the members of the community.
In his response to this session, Dr. Neri Horowitz, Chairman of Agora Policy, said that it is important to carefully study nuances within the haredi community that impact on data on employment. For example, the internal economy of the ultra-Orthodox community, which is not reflected in the data of the Labor Force Survey or the Social Survey, greatly affects what happens on the ground and the community's ability to maintain its members above the poverty line.
SESSION THREE – MILITARY SERVICE AND CIVILIAN SERVICE
Rabbi Bezalel Cohen, a fellow at the Mandel School for Educational Leadership, described the military programs designated specifically for the haredi community, focusing primarily on the "Shahar" programs in the Air Force, the Navy, and the Intelligence Corps, each of which is designed for a different segment of the haredi community. At the start of his lecture, Rabbi Cohen discussed the fact that yeshiva students refrain from serving in the army, pointing to it as one of the fundamental issues in the dispute between the religious and secular public in Israel. He then reviewed the establishment of the "Shahar" program, the conditions of military service offered by the program, the importance of the employment component of the program, and the nature of the young men who choose to participate in this program. Rabbi Cohen described the attitude of the ultra-Orthodox community to the program, differentiating between the response of the haredi public and that of its rabbinic leaders. In his opinion, participation in this program is part of a larger phenomenon in which haredi men are joining the labor force, and it was made possible both by changes in Israeli society and in the Israel Defense Forces.
Lt. Col. Dror Spiegel, the outgoing commander of the "Netzach Yehuda" battalion known as the "Nahal Haredi," spoke about the establishment of this battalion, the nature of the population that serves in it, and the components of this program, which is comprised of military service followed by a "year of the mission" dedicated to education and vocational training, which gives participants the opportunity to complete their high school education or to learn a trade. He also surveyed the challenges and dilemmas that are involved in establishing and maintaining a combat battalion in the infantry that is made up of haredi soldiers.
Mr. Sar- Shalom Jerbi, Director General of the National Service Administration, presented updated data on the service of ultra-Orthodox Jews in national or civilian service in Israel. He described the process of recruiting haredim to serve and defined the goals of the National Service Administration in its work with the haredi public.
Dr. Reuven Gal, a Senior Research Fellow at the Technion's Samuel Neaman Institute who previously founded and headed the Civil Service Authority, focused on the main influence of national service on the entrance of the haredi community into the employment market and on their ability to break out of the cycle of poverty.
In responding to this session, Prof. Asher Cohen of the Department of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University asserted that the question of whether there should be specialized and homogeneous units in the IDF is a cultural question. He also raised the question of whether the IDF is ready to induct large numbers of ultra-Orthodox soldiers, given its current infrastructure, which requires special personnel as well as a significant budget.