Printer Friendly
LOCKED OUT
Last week the latch to our formidable front gate broke so that we could not enter or leave our building by the usual method of ingress and egress. Being resourceful people - otherwise why would we be living in Jerusalem - all of us living in the building developed an alternate way to gain access to our homes and to the street.
We used a circuitous route by entering or leaving through the parking lot gate, though we were forced to leave that open at all times.
It is a queasy feeling to be locked out of one’s own dwelling and neighborhood. It also represented to me the crux of the current contretemps regarding Charedi society here in Israel. Basically put, both the Charedim and the rest of Israeli society were very satisfied until now with the status quo, meaning that Charedim were locked out of meaningful participation in general Israeli life.
They were to be kept in their study halls and neighborhoods, subsidized to the hilt by a benign but destructive welfare system, with their educational programs supported minimally and grudgingly by the state as long as they agreed to be locked out of the general community in Israel.
For various reasons, which I will not now detail, the leaders and rabbis of the Charedi public acquiesced to this eventually unsustainable situation and for decades this became the norm – being locked out – as far as Charedi and general Israeli societies were concerned.
But this arrangement was doomed to collapse because of the demographic growth of the Charedi community. With government austerity measures that could no longer support the necessary level of subsidies and welfare to that community, this new generation of Charedim were no longer willing to be permanently denied personal advancement and economic independence.
The situation began to change over a decade ago when government grants to large families were severely diminished. This led to a decline in the birth rate among the Israeli Arab population but the Charedi birth rate remained unaffected. The Charedim have had to expand their neighborhoods and to move to cities where they never before appeared in major numbers. New programs such as Nachal Charedi – Charedim serving in the Israeli army - Charedi colleges and universities for women, and job training, especially in computer related fields, for Charedi men, all began to make an impact both on Charedi and general Israeli society.
To put it mildly, the Charedim did not feel welcome at all in their foray into general Israeli society. Parts of that society were determined to keep them locked out and not even to accommodate them with an alternate path ‘through the parking lot gate’ so to speak.
In effect the op-ed writers in Haaretz and other anti-Charedi media have said: “You can only enter our society, serve in our army, or hold a job in our economy if you will change your appearance, your life style and eventually your beliefs and traditions.” Since this is an unreasonable, unfair, anti-democratic and spiteful demand, the Charedim rightfully reacted negatively to its tone and message. Yet the Charedim continue to use side paths to enter Israeli society and this has caused panic in certain circles in Israeli life
The government follows a contradictory set of policies regarding the integration of Charedim in the general society of Israel. It builds Charedi only cities such as Beitar Ilit and then complains that the Charedim want to live only amongst themselves. It states that it wants Charedim to serve in the defense forces and then the defense forces create crises and conditions that render it to be well nigh impossible to serve. What in the world does the defense of the country have to do with ordering male soldiers to attend gatherings with women singing?
Why should Charedi men entering the workforce find such hostility amongst their co-workers and the commercial world generally? And why should the misdeeds of certain Charedim – of which there are unfortunately manifold examples – be used to tarnish an entire group and society - and in fact religion and Judaism itself?
I have written before about the failings of the leadership and society of the Charedim and this is no apologia for its sometimes self-destructive behavior. But is it not the policy of good government and sane society to refuse to correct those faults. It is necessary to accommodate changes in attitude and perception that will facilitate inclusion and not permanent exclusion? No one feels comfortable at being locked out of one’s own home and rightful place in society.
Shabat shalom.
Berel Wein
