Economy Minister Aryeh Deri insists that reverse discrimination is required to end the ongoing discriminatory policies against the chareidi tzibur. He explains that regarding a bill that will soon be presented to the Ministerial Law Committee will compel every government ministry to allocate 5% of jobs being offered in favor of chareidi applicants and chareidim will receive priority similar to the priority now given to minorities and women hired in civil service.
In line with the coalition agreement signed with Yahadut Hatorah the government is required to encourage bringing chareidim into the public sector. Knesset Finance Committee Chairman Moshe Gafne has been addressing the issue of discrimination against chareidim in recent years and the private bill presented today is the fruit of his labors.
During a session of the Knesset Finance Committee on Monday, 28 Sivan, Gafne spoke of how government companies don’t hire chareidim. When asked what criteria is used to define who is chareidi, Gafne responded in a puzzled tone “All of a sudden we don’t know how to identify a chareidi? We cannot identify a chareidi? I have ideas. Those who are most often attacked in the media”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
Which raises the same problems one has with quotas in other countries (the United States and India are the worst offenders). No one believes that any member of the favored minority is qualified, and that they are only filling a job due to affirmative action. A more effective solution would be to require accomodations of hareidim in all workplaces, including addressing disparate impact of employment policies. However the real issue is bigotry, and unless that can be addressed formal regulations don’t help, and it would generations to undo the impact of almost a century of anti-religious indoctination in the secular schools.
How about tax incentives, rather affirmative action?