Avi K-
1. there is so much history of distrust, of distortion of people’s intentions, of stereotyping on both sides.
Chareidim have long memories of the early days when the secular Zionists pushed their agenda, pulled people away from Yiddishkeit and tried to interfere with mosdos chinuch. Things have changed, secular motives have changed, but the suspicion is still there- and anything that smacks of interfering by the secularists, especially when it comes to the chinuch system, will put the chareidim on the defensive.
2. Yes, many of the jobs that chareidim take have low salaries (hmm… yeshivas budgets are small, partly because they receive less government funding compared to public government schools, and so they can’t afford to pay their Rebbeim large salaries…Although I think Rebbeim do get paid more than BY teachers, and their salaries are linked to Misrad Hachinuch scales, so you can say that all teachers get paid low salaries). Part of it is idealism, or of wanting to stay within a frum Torah-oriented environment even when working, and partly do to lack of skills in other areas. But that does not mean they are lazy or shirking responsibility or expecting hand-outs.
In terms of discrimination in hiring, as I said in point 1, there is a long history of distrust on both sides, and chilonim are scared of chareidim whom they really don’t understand. Peleg’s actions of course does not help. I can’t say I blame them for not hiring chareidim, I’m just pointing out the obstacles to those who are searching for jobs.
3. As discussed over and over again on this issue, the lomdei Torah feel that they are protecting Am Yisroel. Just as there are many jobs in the army- and you wouldn’t say that the base cook is doing less of a duty than the combat soldier, so too the lomdei Torah have an important job. The problem is that the secular public does not recognize the importance of this job. Besides, if we were honest, the army really does not want (or need) a mass amount of chareidim serving, it would be a logistical nightmare!
4. Despite the rhetoric often spread on this forum, the world is not divided into Zionists and anti-Zionists. There are those who don’t believe in the shitas of the medina, but love E”Y and understand that this is the government they got and they have to live with for the meanwhile, as long as the galus continues. They are not traitors. They vote for the parties that they feel will best represent their interests. They pay taxes, they pay VAT on the clothing and food etc they buy for their large families, and they are as deserving of social benefits as any other citizen.
Menu