Occupied Jerusalem
- the formation of Benjamin Netanyahu's new government - relying on the (Haredi) Jewish parties - reflected the growing strength of the religious current in Israeli society, the strengthening of its influence politically and socially, and the transition of the "Haredi" religious Jewish community from isolation and marginalization to power in Israel.
The main ultra-Orthodox parties, "Shas" and "Torah Judaism", represented by 18 seats in the Knesset, are seeking to use their political strength to penetrate the joints of government.
This enables it to influence the entire identity of Israel, from a "Jewish and democratic" state as it defines itself, to a state that aspires to rule Israel according to the Torah and Jewish religious law.
The growth of the ultra-Orthodox Haredi current sheds light on the deep conflicts within Israeli society, especially with the inability to resolve the issue of the Jewish identity of the state, and due to the absence of a unified and homogeneous identity for the Jews in Palestine, who were divided between secular and traditional Jews, and religious people expressed by the Haredim and what call themselves nationalists.
This societal mixture shows contradictions between the components of Israeli identity that include Judaism, nationalism, Zionism, and democracy.
It is a mixture rejected by the Haredi movement, which adheres to the Jewish religion and the Torah as one identity for Israel.
The Haredim represent the fastest growing population in Israel and devote their time to studying Jewish law instead of going to work (Al-Jazeera)
Haredi Jews?
A very strict religious movement, and the word Haredi means (pious), and these Jews deny Zionism, and most of them live in historical Palestine and the United States.
Some of them live in European countries and move between them.
And they belong in their beliefs to the Torah and the ancient Jewish intellectual assets.
This current consists of several sects and parties belonging to rabbis (clerics) who direct them to live their daily lives according to biblical rituals and legislation.
The Haredim adhere to the texts mentioned in the Torah, the Talmud, and the teachings of the rabbis, and they agree that the State of Israel and the life of the Jews in it must be governed by Jewish law and biblical teachings, and not by the principles of democracy, the values of Zionism, and the laws legislated by man.
Accordingly, they use their political influence to impose these teachings on the daily lives of Israelis.
How big is the Haredi community?
How wide is it demographically?
The Haredim currently number 1.28 million, and in 2009 their number was 750,000.
The population growth rate among them is 4%, while the general rate for Israelis is 2.3%.
Thus, the Haredi community is the fastest growing in Israel.
Religious Jews, "Haredi", will constitute 16% of the total population of Israel by 2030. The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics estimates that their population will reach two million in 2033.
More than 40% of Haredi Jews live in the city of Jerusalem and in the “Bnei Brak” area near Tel Aviv, while 7% of them live in the Beit Shemesh settlement near Jerusalem, and 53% live in settlements with a Haredi majority such as “Modi’in Illit” and “Beitar Illit”. and “Elad” built on Palestinian lands in the West Bank, or in residential neighborhoods within large cities, such as Safed, Tiberias, Ashdod, Malbus (Petah Tikva), Haifa, Sarafand, and Umm Khaled (Netanya).
What is the socioeconomic status of the Haredim?
Data from the think tank of the Israel Democracy Institute show that the poverty rate among the Haredim is twice that of the general population in Israel at 25%, while more than 50% of the Haredim live below the poverty line.
This represents a slight improvement compared to previous years, when the poverty rate among them reached 58% in 2005.
And in 2022, high unemployment rates were recorded among males in the Haredi community, reaching 46.5%, which is almost 3 times higher than unemployment among non-Haredi Jewish males.
This is due to the willingness of Haredi males to learn the Torah in Jewish religious schools for at least 3 years, as an alternative to military service, as each Haredi student receives a monthly pension of $1,200.
Haredi currents include religious extremists, in addition to the Neturei Karta group, which rejects Zionism and occupation (Al-Jazeera)
What are the most prominent Haredi sects and currents?
Haredi Hasidic (Western) Jews:
A mystical mystical movement that has attracted thousands of followers since the early 19th century among Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.
The movement arose around a group of influential rabbis, and is known for its strict internal system and emphasis on the behavior of its members and their political and social discipline.
The Lithuanian (Western) Haredim Jews:
The
Lithuanian Haredim devote most of their time to the systematic study of the Talmud and its interpretations, and consider the study of the Torah a supreme value, although a large portion of men go to the labor market, instead of learning the Torah.
Sephardic (Oriental) Haredi Jews:
They are Jews whose families were brought to Palestine from various Arab countries, and they initially adopted the rituals of the Lithuanian Haredi Jews, of a European Haredi character, but then they were influenced by Jewish rabbis of Spanish origin who moved and lived in the countries of the Maghreb.
The Neturei Karta sect
openly opposes the Zionist movement and sees its settlement project as the cause of the evils befalling the Jewish people.
The majority of this sect lives in Jerusalem and does not recognize Israel, oppose military service, refuse to receive allocations and budgets from the occupation government, do not participate in the Knesset elections, and recognize the right of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence.
How do Haredim view democracy?
All sects in Haredi society shut themselves off and close themselves in order to prevent dissolving into other non-Haredi sects and societies. They are characterized by strictness and intolerance to the traditional Jewish biblical values, and refuse the penetration of European and Western culture and the values of secularism and democracy into their ranks.
Haredi sects recognize the democratic system as a "temporarily good situation," but they strongly oppose its adoption as a basis for political and social life, because it takes the place of Jewish law as the sole source of legislation and management of the public life of the Jewish people.
The Haredim adhere to biblical texts regarding the separation of the sexes and prevent mixing and relations between men and women. They are keen to buy “halal” products (approved by the chief rabbinic), and they refrain from desecrating the “sanctity of the Sabbath day,” and they do not work on it and dedicate it to visiting synagogues and reading the Torah only.
How do Haredim deal with conscription into the Israeli army?
Young men in the Haredi sects have always refrained from enlisting under the pretext of their preoccupation with studying Jewish teachings and biblical laws, "which is the guarantee for preserving the survival of Israel."
And also because of the difficulty of preserving religiosity and Jewish teachings due to mixing in the army.
They consider that studying the Torah is a "spiritual weapon" to protect "the people of Israel," and that devotion to studying it is as important as military service.
Despite their opposition, in the early 1990s, Israel began a recruitment campaign among Haredi youths, as it established a military unit for them, called the "Haredi" or "Nitzah Yehuda" battalion, which is mainly active in the occupied West Bank.
It established other military frameworks to absorb the Haredim into the air force, navy and intelligence services.
However, only a few thousand Haredim serve in the army even though the Haredi youth population numbers nearly 300,000.
Netanyahu (center) with the leaders of the ultra-Orthodox movement who seized the reins of power after the recent Israeli elections (Reuters)
What are the Haredi parties in the current Israeli government?
All ultra-Orthodox communities, with the exception of the Neturei Karta movement, participate in the Knesset elections as part of coalition parties of Western and Eastern Haredim.
The Shas movement, headed by Aryeh Deri (Oriental Haredim), has 11 seats representing it in the Knesset.
As for the "Unified Torah Judaism" party, led by Moshe Gafni (Western Haredim), it has a parliamentary list composed of two sects, "Hasidim" and "Lithuanians", and includes an alliance of the "Degil Torah" and "Agodat Yisrael" parties, as the party won 7 seats in the elections. The last Knesset.
Haredi parties have strengthened their presence in the Israeli political scene, and are today the cornerstone of Netanyahu's new government, as well as the strategic ally of the Likud party, and have become the most influential component of decision-making in the face of the center camp and the secular liberal current.