The Israel Democracy Institute and the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Studies on Sunday morning, 13 Teves, released their paper addressing aspects of chareidi life in Israel in the areas of population, education, employment, and entertainment amid the realization that for the first time, the chareidi tzibur numbers over 1 million residents in Israel.

The annual publication presents significant changes that have taken place in chareidi society over the last few years and points to the increasing integration of the chareidim into Israeli society, alongside the differentiation of cultural aspects. The situation that emerges from the abstract indicates that the chareidim have continued to enter the higher education system, an increase in the number of matriculation examinees, and positive trends in the field of employment. In addition, the abstract presents the continued gaps in income and tax payments between the chareidi population and the general population.

The yearbook was conducted by a joint research team of the two institutes, which included Dr. Lee Kahner, Dr. Maya Choshen, Dr. Gilad Malach and Dafna Shemer.

Population:

For a first time, the chareidi tzibur in Israel this year crossed the one million mark, now representing 12% of Israel’s population. This is expected to reach 16% by the year 2030 and 33% of the general population in 2065 but 40% of the Jewish population.

The chareidim are by and large a young population, with 58% of the community being 0-19-years-old as compared to 30% among the general Jewish population. This said, the birth rate among chareidi women has declined since 2005 as the average number of children to a chareidi mother back in 2003 was 7.5 and today, that figure stands at 6.9. The average among non-chareidi Jewish women is 2.4.

Family status:

The marriage rate among chareidim over the age of 20 is 82% as compared to 63% among the remainder of the Jewish population. In recent years, there has been a significant hike in the marriage age. In 2005 it was 61% and today, that stands at 20-24, with only 44% of chareidim in this group being married.

Even when looking at a broader age group, there is still a significant gap. While in 2005, 76% of chareidim aged 20-29 were married, in 2016 only 67.5% were married. Accordingly, the proportion of married women aged 20-29 in 2005 was 80%, in 2016 there was a decline to 67%. Men also experienced a moderate decline in those years, from 71% to 68%.

Education:

There are 300,000 chareidi students, representing 18% of the general student body in Israel. However, the rate of growth of chareidi education slowed by a quarter between 2013-2016 from 4.2% per year to 3.2% per year. This is in contrast to the growth rate of Hebrew-State education, which rose from 0.5 percent a year to 2.3 percent a year.

Two possible explanations for this phenomenon are the decline in births in the chareidi sector, as well as the decline in the attractiveness of chareidi schools to non-chareidi populations.

The increase in the number of matriculation examinees in the chareidi education system rose from 23% in 2005 to 33% in 2015. The increase can be attributed mainly to the fact that within a decade the number of chareidi girls approaching matriculation increased from 31% to 51%, from 16% in 2009 to 13% in 2015.

It is also interesting to note that while between 1999-2012, the number of yeshiva students and avreichim increased by 4% annually, and between 2012 and 2014, when the chareidim were out of government, their number dropped by 16%, apparently as a result of the combination of the lowering of the age of exemption from the IDF and the cut in support for yeshivos.

In accordance with this trend, in 2016, the number of yeshiva students and avreichim rose by 4%.

Higher Education:

The number of chareidi students in the higher education system has increased 10-fold over the past decade from 1,000 to 10,800. Today, 1,500 chareidi students study are studying for advanced degrees.

69% of the chareidi students are women and only 31% are men. The distribution of fields of study among chareidi students (first degree) is significantly different from the general population: 34% of chareidi students are studying education as compared with 18% of the general population. 11% study paramedical studies as compared to 6% of the general population. In contrast, only 8% of them study engineering versus 18% of the general population.

Earning & Expenses:

The monthly income of a chareidi household (NIS 12,616 a month) decreased by about 35% of the income of non-chareidi Jewish households. When comparing per capita income, the gap increased to 171 percent (2,168 among chareidim as compared with 5,876 among non-chareidi Jews), the main reason being the size of the chareidi household.

Only 65% ​​of the income in a chareidi household is based on work, compared with 78% in non-chareidi Jewish households. Accordingly, 24% of the income of the chareidim is from allowances and only 1% of the income is based on capital, pension and provident funds (compared to 10% among non-chareidi Jews).

Because of their low income, chareidi households’ expenditure on taxes stands at 1,261, a third of the expenditure of non-chareidi households. Despite the size of chareidi households, their total monthly expenditures are 15% lower than that of non-chareidi households, and stands at NIS 13,676. The distribution of expenditure by field shows that, for the most part, the behavior of the chareidi and non-chareidi Jewish households in Israel is similar in terms of expenditure on food, housing, health and education.

Transportation & Communications:

While in the non-chareidi households this expenditure stands at 21%, whereas among the chareidim, it constitutes on 12%. This is because chareidim rely more on public transportation rather than private cars and there are fewer homes hooked to the internet and/or cable TV.

Poverty:

The poverty rate of the chareidim fell to 45 percent in 2016, the lowest rate in more than a decade. This is a result of the trend that has characterized the chareidi sector in recent years of entering the employment circles and increasing government subsidies. At its peak, in 2005, the poverty rate among the chareidim was 58%, after cutting child allowances and other payments.

Housing:

During the past decade (2006-2016), there has been a decline in home ownership in the chareidi community from 79% in 2006 to 75% in 2016.

Transportation:

The number of chareidim with a driver’s license stands at 42% as compared to 81% among non-chareidi Jews. However, among chareidi women, there was a significant increase from 21% to 29% (between 2008 and 2016). Only 41% of chareidi households own a vehicle (compared with 79% of the non-chareidi Jewish population). This is a significant increase since 2003, when only 31% owned a vehicle.

Among chareidim who are employed, only 20% arrive at work by car as compared to 51% of the general population. 25% of chareidi men come to work on public transportation and 14% walk. Only 16% of chareidi women get to work by car, compared to 36% on public transportation, 19% on foot and 7% on organized transportation.

An interesting trend indicates that over the years the chareidim have moved further away from their workplace; while in 2013, 45% of chareidim worked within a quarter of an hour of their home, in 2016, only 40% live at this distance. Among women, the proportion of those living near work dropped from 48% to 38% in three years.

Employment:

Since 2002, the number of chareidi workers has increased from 35% among men and 50% among women to 52% and 73%, respectively. However, in 2015 and 2016, the continuous increase we saw in recent years was halted. It can be assumed that the current government policy, which reduced the incentive to go to work and increased support for yeshiva students and avreichim, was instrumental in halting the trend.

The average wage of chareidi workers is significantly lower than that of non-chareidi Jews, and stands at NIS 6,701, compared with 10,776. The difference between the wages of chareidi men and non-chareidi Jewish men is 39%, compared to 32% among women.

The low wage among men derives mainly from their hourly wage (73% of the average), whereas among women the gap stems mainly from the fact that 78% of them work part-time. In 2001, 64% of chareidi women were employed in education, whereas only 42% of them are employed in this field today (compared to 17% of the women in the non-chareidi sector).

Working Chareidim:

Only 6% of working chareidim are in a management position as compared to 15% among the non-chareidi Jewish population. Chareidim view advancement at work being less important than their non-chareidi counterparts; 41% as compared to 51%. Nevertheless, among over half of the young chareidim, ages 20-34, they view advancement down the line at work as being a significant goal.

The chareidim regard their workplaces primarily as an existential need: 57% of them defined wages as the most significant factor in their desire to change jobs, compared with 37% among the rest of the Jewish public. However, while 77% of the chareidim attribute livelihood to a main reason for the transition, only 48% of the young think so.

Workplace Satisfaction:

The chareidim are more satisfied with the balance between work and home: 67% expressed satisfaction, compared with 57% of their counterparts in the Jewish population. 92% of the chareidim feel their work has value, 96% feel that their managers respect them, and 83% do not encounter tasks that are contrary to the values ​​of chareidi society.

Surprisingly, 96% of chareidim report that they have never experienced discrimination in the workplace. However, the chareidim describe work in a more stressful environment than the rest of the population. Only 42% of chareidim can take breaks, compared to 61% of the general public and a small minority are unionized (only 17% versus 33% of the general Jewish population).

Military Service:

In 2016, despite the repeal of the Equal Treatment Law, 34 percent of the graduates of the chareidi school system enlisted in the IDF or in civil service (about 3,500 chareidi men), but in the past year the IDF did not meet its recruitment targets. 667 volunteers reported and not the target of 2,000 volunteers. 81% of chareidi recruits preferred military service and only 19% of civilian service.

Technology:

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in Internet use among chareidim, from 28% in 2009 to 43% in 2016. In this context, chareidi women use the Internet more than men – 47% versus 39%.

Vacation:

Half of the chareidim (49%) are vacationing in Israel, compared to 61% of non-chareidi Jews. As for trips abroad, the gaps are greater: 16% of chareidim go abroad, compared with 47% of the non-chareidi Jewish population. However, over the past few years, there has been an increase from 12% in 2014 to 16% in 2016, indicating the emergence of leisure culture and the establishment of the chareidi middle class.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)