According to the 2020 Living Together Index

Secular Israelis prefer Arabs over Haredi Jews

Data from a new survey published in the media show that while only about half of secular Israelis (53%), were willing to live next door to ultra-Orthodox Israelis, 69% of them are willing to live next to Arabs!

24/12/2020 22:45

Tags: Living Together Index ·  discrimination ·  ultra-Orthodox ·  Moshe Gafni

Yeshiva, source: Wikipedia

Next week, an annual survey will be published for the second time, which is called the Living Together Index.

Data from the survey published in the media show that while only about half of secular Israelis (53%), were willing to live next door to ultra-Orthodox Israelis, 69% of them are willing to live next to Arabs! Similarly, more secular Israelis are willing to associate with Arabs than with ultra-Orthodox! There is no doubt that the tension between the secular and the ultra-Orthodox in Israel is rising, and as the survey authors point out - the corona crisis has only made it worse.

Many criticize the Prime Minister's policies during the COVID-19 period, including decisions that contradict medical considerations in an attempt not to upset his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners. In Israel’s neighborhoods and cities where its ultra-Orthodox population is concentrated, the outbreak of the disease has been more widespread than among the rest of the population, but the government refrained from imposing local lockdowns and imposed restrictions on the general public, in submission to the demands of the ultra-Orthodox parties.

Photos of weddings and mass holiday events in the ultra-Orthodox sector [in the USA, for example, thousands attended a Satmar wedding in New York], as well as ultra-Orthodox schools defying lockdowns during certain periods - outraged the public and was featured prominently in the media. But this is only an aggravation of a reality already familiar to all in Israel, and Hiddush’s polls show that that the tension between the secular and the ultra-Orthodox is perceived by the public as standing at the top of the pyramid of internal societal tensions in Israel [along with the growing tension between right and left]; and it far exceeds the severity of the tension between Sephardim and Ashkenazim, or between rich and poor.

Parallel data have also emerged over the years from JPPI surveys. For example, the 2020 Pluralism Index attests to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) sector’s negative image regarding its contribution to the state. [Arab Israelis and Diaspora Jews are perceived as contributing more to Israel than the Haredi sector]. Most secular Israelis feel that Israeli society treats the Haredim too well.

A partial illustration of the problem that many Israelis feel [although politicians usually ignore these negative emotions and bend to the scepter of the ultra-Orthodox parties] can be seen in a bill that passed its first reading this week in the Knesset. This is an appropriate representation bill for the ultra-Orthodox in local governmental authorities and in public corporations. The proposal was submitted by the Chairman of the Finance Committee, MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni and Chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, MK Rabbi Yaakov Asher.

A similar proposal was submitted by the ultra-Orthodox parties about 4 years ago, and now it has been raised again. The bill stipulates that in any government corporation, jobs will be designated for the ultra-Orthodox sector, according to their relative share in the general population. Also, in any local authority, jobs will be designated for members of the ultra-Orthodox sector in accordance with the relative share of all residents of the local municipality. Further, according to the bill, for the first five years jobs will be designated for members of the ultra-Orthodox population at a ratio twice as high as their representation in the population.

Once again, it became clear that the ultra-Orthodox MKs behind the bill might talk about equality and preventing discrimination, but in practice they only care about their sector.

Once again, it became clear that the ultra-Orthodox MKs behind the bill might talk about equality and preventing discrimination, but in practice they only care about their sector. When the discussion took place in committee, following the preliminary vote on the bill, there was sharp criticism that the proposal only concerns the ultra-Orthodox, not other sectors against which there is discrimination, such as Arabs. The initiators of the proposal hastened to clarify that they would correct the bill in preparation for the second and third readings. However, if there was a real commitment to benefit society as a whole and to the value of equality - the bill would not have been presented as it was, referening solely to increasing the representation of the ultra-Orthodox. The principle of equality for all sectors would have been included in the first place, for, as stated, a similar proposal had already been raised 4 years ago and encountered similar criticism.

During the committee hearing it turned out once again that there is factual criticism from experts, as well as on the part of government ministries and women's organizations, in relation to the requirements of the bill, ignoring the level of education in the ultra-Orthodox sector, vocational training, implications for the integration of women, and more.

The bill is not based on a study and analysis of the reasons for the low representation of the ultra-Orthodox sector in public service, but rather a purely statistical argument. The emphasis on public sector employment in terms of relative representation in the population is ridiculous, and it would cause a deterioration in public service and government companies, for the professional and academic education of the ultra-Orthodox sector is nil compared to the rest of the population, and the requirement to regard yeshiva studies as equivalent to academic studies is a disregard for common sense.

It is no coincidence that it turns out that when ultra-Orthodox Israeli men graduate from yeshivas and attempt to integrate into academic studies, about 70% of them drop out before completing their degrees, most of them during the year of preparation for academic studies! Rabbi Gafni and his allies are at the forefront of the effort to deny academic and professional education to ultra-Orthodox men by keeping them in yeshivas. Discrimination does need to be eradicated, and equality should be promoted, but Rabbi Asher and his friends are the last ones to speak about either the elimination of discrimination, about the promotion of true equality between all population sectors. Only recently, the ultra-Orthodox parties voted against the amendment to the Nation-State Law to insert an equality clause.