According to figures released by the Jerusalem Institute for Israeli Studies ahead of Yom Yerushalayim, the chareidim in the capital make up 31% of the Jewish population as opposed to the dati leumi tzibur, comprising 21%. The number of Jewish residents of the holy city who define themselves as chiloni, not frum, stands at 20%. For comparison sake, the non-frum residents of Tel Aviv comprise 61% of the city and in Haifa, 55%.
The waning non-frum community in the capital permits the dati leumi tzibur to boast a gain, now with 11,460 students in first-to-sixth grades as opposed to 11,270 students in the secular public schools. It marks a first time the dati leumi elementary school students outnumber their non-frum counterparts.
Is one takes them both together, the elementary school students in both the state religious and non-religious public schools, it does not reach the 98,400 students registered in the chareidi sector elementary schools, representing a significant percentage of the total number of Jewish students, 159,400.
The public schools, K-12, frum and non-frum, account for 38% of the total number of the total number of Jewish students.
The Education Ministry reports the dati leumi students in Jerusalem lead the nation, and if the national average for a matriculation (bagrut) diploma in religious schools (12th grades) stands at 69%, that number is higher in the capital, 71%.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
With these demographics, it is easy to understand why the hilonim community is taking affirmative steps to try to break up the hareidi and reduce its number. They came to Israel to be free of the burden of Torah, and they look at the demographics and realize that in the near future Israel will have a Jewish majority.