Leading Israeli economists: Government policy regarding haredim is an existential threat to Israel

The policies of the Israeli government as they pertain to the ultra-Orthodox population, coupled with the high growth rate of this population are leading Israel down a dangerous path which threatens the country’s economy and society, said nearly 130 Israeli economists in a letter.

“The State of Israel and haredi society are dependent on each other: the prosperity of the state requires the help of the haredi community with the economy, security, and society,” read the letter. “At the same time, without a strong economy which can provide security to all citizens, the haredi society can’t exist for the long term,” the letter added.

“Increasing the economic and security burden on part of the Israeli public, and the avoidance of a growing part of society from carrying their burden are not sustainable processes,” said the letter, saying that the security situation faced by Israel makes this more dramatic.

“Many of those who carry the burden will prefer to leave Israel,” said the letter. “The first to leave will be those with opportunities abroad: doctors, engineers, hi-tech workers, and scientists.” 

By 2065, 50% of those under the age of 14 are expected to be haredi (compared to 22% today), said the letter. “With no changes to the existing procedure, these processes endanger the existence of the state,” the letter warned.

Increased security needs will lead to extended reserve duty if Israel does not draft additional populations. These extensions will cost Israel’s economy billions of shekels every year, companies will prefer not to hire reservists, and public service and the productivity of the economy will be significantly hurt, it said. This could also lead to a wave of Israeli companies leaving the country as they cannot afford to lose workers to reserve duty, the letter predicted.

Haredi education system does not provide necessary knowledge for workforce

Another issue that will be greatly impacted by the demographic changes Israel faces is the funding the haredi population receives and the funding for haredi education that does not teach core curriculum.

“Accepting a haredi education system that does not give its students the necessary knowledge to manage in a global market, combined with huge budgets that are expected to grow exponentially, is a recipe for deterioration of quality of life in Israel and significant harm to the ability of the state to provide basic services to its citizens,” said the letter.

In the current system of government, the growth of the haredi population will give haredi leadership the ability to ensure overrepresentation of its population in legislation, also enabling its leadership to harm liberal characteristics of the state, said the letter.  

The economists called for wide-ranging reforms in education, dividing the security burden between all the different parts of society, and changes to Israel’s governance system, including encoding liberal and democratic values in law in a way that prevents them from being eroded in the future.

“This is not a false alarm. History will not forgive the captains of the state in the present and future – from the whole political spectrum – if they stand by.

Among those signed on the letter are numerous prominent Israeli economists, including 73 professors, some from Israel’s leading academic institutions. Multiple former director generals of the Finance Ministry are signed on the letter, along with other former finance ministry senior officials. Multiple leaders from academia, and former advisors to political figures are also signed on the letter.  

JPost