A Day of Learning with the Jewish Agency on Haredim and Jewish Peoplehood

A few classmates and I were invited to sit in and participate in part of the yearly meeting of the Jewish Agency for Israel. The meeting of the Board of Governors includes a day of study on issues of Jewish Peoplehood, and this year's topic was "Hardim and the Jewish Collective: Engaging with Voices from the Field." It was an incredible and eye-opening day of learning and exploring this issue, especially since my classmates and I have had some first-hand discussions and interactions with Haredim in Jerusalem.


We were divided so that there was a good mix of voices at each table. My table included two major Jewish organizational presidents, local Federation leaders, a representative from MASA (one of the organizations that contributes to my schooling scholarships), a representative from the Jewish Agency, two leaders of Jewish communities elsewhere in the world, and 3 Israelis who are imbedded in the conflict at hand.


Like the way I presented the Mandel Colloquium, I'll give you my raw, mostly unedited notes.

• The opening session started with an announcement: a 91 year-old from Toronto was making Aliyah after working with the Jewish Agency his whole life. This was met with cheers, applause, and a few shouts of, "it's never too late!" We then heard that this day of the meeting is purely for discussion. There would be no voting sessions today; its purpose is just for learning. (As an aside, it's discomforting to know that the leaders of the leaders still shout "shhhh" into a microphone to get everyone quiet. That's the best you can do?)
• Then we had a video with an INCREDIBLE version of Hatikvah (the Israeli national anthem - live version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbGqWGwGcko). In front of the music were pictures of Haredim, first confronting and violently engaging with the secular world, then with some images of Haredim studying, followed by images of Haredim engaging peacefully with the secular world. The whole thing was, our guess, intentionally provocative, but painted the Haredim with an incredibly wide yet narrow brush. The take-away seemed to be: this is the face of the enemy - an odd statement to make at the beginning of this day of dialogue.
• One of the moderators got up and told a great story of a recent interaction at the Kotel. He saw a man praying with his head up against the wall, clearly praying with all of his energy. After he was done, the moderator asked him if there was something specific for which he was praying. The Haredi man responded that, in light of the incidents of violence between Haredim and women in Beit Shemesh, there may be understanding and cooperation from both sides. "Although," he said, "sometimes it just makes you want to bang your head against a wall."
• The moderator then spoke about four responses to modernity (at which point, I thought, "here we go again!"): fully assimilate, where the response is that I want to live with the other and be like the other; only break with the outside to remain Jewish, where the response is to be with the other by unlike the other; have porous boundaries, where the response is to be with but not entirely like the other (think Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist Judaism); and the final group is about nationalism and Zionism, where the response is to not be with, but like the other. The moderator described this approach as "liquid modernity," as there is much fluidity in modern identifications.
• Lastly, as we broke into our table discussions for introductions, he left us with three questions that would help move our talks forward:
• What is the status of education with regards to the mix of Jewish and Secular knowledge?
• What is the engagement with the State of Israel and the Zionist enterprise?
• And how does the role of women play out in public and private spaces? What do we do with the saying, "men created the world, let women recreate it"?
• We heard from Dr. Nari Horowitz. (These notes may be a little less coherent)
• There has been a secular panic as Haredi power increases
• There is an internal Aliyah, which means managing cultural sensitivities and dealing with new public policy issues, especially with regards to at-risk Haredim (domestic abuse, single mothers, etc.)
• 1/3 of Jewish children born in Israel today are Haredi
• There is a question of Higher Education: in 10-20 years, what will Hebrew University look like? Do they open a Haredi campus that appeases their demands? Or do the Haredim open their own institutions?
• This is a different idea than a culture war
• Hard to peg a real number on Haredim; most estimates are between 750,000 and 950,000, mostly because Israelis don't like to be categorized - and it's especially difficult to categorize Haredim because there are so many cultural variables
• Best estimate: 1,000,000 with a 6.5% growth rate
• Who is Haredi? Definition is open with blurred borders. Major groups include Lithuanians, Chasidim, Jerusalemites (often zealots who make up 50,000 of the Haredi population), S'faradim, Ba'alei T'shuvah, Neo-Breslovs, Chabad & Anglo-Saxons, and about 10,000 Chutzniks.
• There is more differentiation in a Haredi classroom than a secular one
• New group: "Blue shirts"
• Middle class, critical of Zionism and their own communities
• Employed
• Planning of housing is a big issue; they are centralized in some areas, but an important and powerful bloc
• Haredi community has changed from modesty to mass-consumption
• Koshernet (i.e., "Kosher internet") has no potential. People are already exposed to the full internet
• Israeli economy cannot function with only 40% participation in labor markets and banking; this is up from 37%, but still low.
• Those that go into the army get a stipend of 5300 NIS (around $1400, unclear if this is a one-time payment or how often the stipend is paid) for 1.5 years, they go home at 4 PM, they have 1 hour of Torah study a day, and are not required to stay on base for Shabbat
• Secular education is in demand in the Haredi world - 40% have private English tutors
• Pressure on girls to be the best, dress right
• "When you impose something, the zealots win."
• Haredim are in high demand in the secular marketplace as an investment for future markets
• Good scenario for the future: 1/3 Blue Shirts working and serving in the economy, 1/3 traditional Torah studying Haredim, 1/3 maintained by welfare state.
• Haredi nationalism: zealotism & hostility to Zionism; dangerous and could lead to greater cultural warfare on every issue
• Good scenario requires investment, practices and norms from the Supreme Court, and good international relations to allow time to focus on the discussion
• What can the Diaspora do? Philanthropy must be controlled; invest in programs targeted at at-risk populations and Blue Shirts.
• Next we saw a video of edited interviews from various members of communities
• First was Richard Peres, a council member from Beit Shemesh
• They are working to improve the social services situation
• The money from the seculars is supporting the Haredim who do not pay local taxes
• The conversation is one-way: the council tries to talk with the Haredim, but they do not wish to engage in talks
• Segregation of cities, though (one secular and one Haredi) is not a viable option; yet if something doesn't change, they could be headed for disaster
• Rabbi Rubenshtein from Beitar Elite, a segregated, Haredi city
• Beitar Elite doesn't have demonstrations, which is an advantage to segregated cities
• Haredi cities don't have these extremist issues
• Women want to sit in the back of the bus; 400 segregated buses a day run their lines
• Anat Hoffman, Director of the Israeli Religious Action Center
• The authors of the Talmud worked while they wrote the Talmud, why can't today's Haredim do the same?
• Never had state power behind only one faction in Jewish history
• Someone else, whose name I could not catch
• Haredim feel connected to the state as if it is their own, like everyone else
• Discussion in Beit Shemesh is about public space
• There is a big difference between what you can say as an insignificant minority and a significant minority
• In discussing government subsidies for large families: "It is more profitable to raise children than sheep!"
• Mike Prashler
• Success in cohesion is necessary for future state
• Haredim are not one homogenous block
• Not everyone is committed to democracy as a way forward
• Can't compromise on core issues (freedom of religion, equality of sexes), but can dialogue and understand the other
• Naomi Perl, Haredi woman
• How to find common ground? Solution in intermediary leaders
• Solutions cannot come from the outside, must come from within
• We then had some group discussions.
• The army is not ready for the influx of Haredim, should they decide to send 10,000 kids to the army tomorrow
• My hypothetical question was: How is it possible to create a situation in the future where the "separate but equal" model doesn't create a similar bifurcation in the army when more Haredim are included?
• This time, they used applause as a tool to bring the large group back together. It was much nicer than "shhhhh"
• Then, we wrapped up. There were two main points of the day:
• Discussing the relationship of "Bein Adam l'Amo - between a person and its people."
• To raise us to a higher level of confusion. Mission accomplished!

Of course, no conclusions were made about this issue. There was no take-home, actionable aspect of this day of learning. But important ideas were discussed and new perspectives brought in to the fold. It was really valuable for us, as Reform Rabbinical and Cantorial students to be present for these talks, as we were some of the youngest people in the room. Also, we were one of the few Reform voices in the room; something that is not always included in these kinds of talks. All in all, a wonderful day of learning!