According to an independent study conducted by the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, about 50% of the nation’s students are comprised of Arabs and chareidim. The study shows that during the past decade, the nation’s public school system has shrunk by about 9%. The report addresses the steady growth in the chareidi and Arab sectors, stating their educational systems are sorely neglected and major advances are needed to bring them to an acceptable level.
In 2000, 46% of students were enrolled in a public school compared to 39% in 2009. In 2000, the Arabs and chareidim represented 39% of students as compared to 48% today. The number relating to dati leumi (national religious) schools remains unchanged according to the report. The Arab sector enjoyed an increase of 10% during the years covered by the report and the chareidi sector grew an impressive 51%.
The center’s executive director, Prof. Dan Ben-David warns that the future rests in the hands of the Arab and chareidi sectors and if the state does not begin recognizing the need to raise their level of schools in those sectors, the nation will be heading for serious problems. The report adds that at present, standards in those schools are significantly lower than acceptable western standards. The Taub Center calls on the government to begin addressing the sectors which in the coming generation will represent the majority of school students, in line with constant efforts from chareidi lawmakers who insist the schools in the chareidi community are constantly discriminated against.
While secular lawmakers frequently accuse the chareidi schools of taking too big a share of the budget, the chareidi MKs and ministers have always insisted this is not the case, but in actuality, they are sorely discriminated against as is evident by the deplorable conditions and overcrowding existing in many a chareidi school.
Ben-David fears that the chareidim and Arabs are sorely lagging behind their western counterparts and believes the students of tomorrow will be unable to compete in the international marketplace. He cites reports that document employment statistics in the two communities as being significantly lower than in developed countries, concerned with the growing trend.
The Taub report warns that if permitted to continue on the current track, the chareidi and Arab sectors, which will represent a majority of the nation’s schools students, will not self-sustaining due to the lack of education and this will have severe socio-economic consequences.
Taub Center is “an independent, non-partisan, socioeconomic research institute.”
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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6 Responses
More evidence that zionism is doomed. The only issue is what will replace it, and whether the change will be a “velvet revolution” or a self-inflicted holocaust.
This article was presented in the Secular Israel press and appears here basically unedited. The Arabs are anti-Zionist but the Charedim are Zionists. What do you think will happen if heaven forbid the Moshiach has not arrived yet when the Charedim become the majority. The Gedolei Hatorah will no doubt send some of them to the Army, have some get an education, make sure that there are Doctors, Engineers, and Laborers. They will proclaim as follows: עת לעשות לשם הפירו תורתך and what will the Eidah and Satmar do when the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah’s hand picked representative is Prime Minister? Throw Molotov Cocktails in Yerushalayim?
I wonder who akuperma thinks is supporting the growth of the Hareidi educational system. Ifm he like the current trend, he had better start praying for the welfare of th Israeli government.
Hashem handles the world, and especially the Jewish people, and especially Eretz Yisrael.
People who are afraid of what’s going to happen need a big emunah check.
Everything’s going to be just…fine!
#3 – The hilonim have painted themselves into a corner. For ideological reasons, they are committed to doing all in their power to destroy yiddishkeit. On the other hand, for political reasons, they have to fund Jewish (meaning Hareidi) and Arab schools.
Furthermore, for ideological reasons, they can’t allow Hareidim (or Arabs, for the most part) to participate in the Israeli economy except on the margins (e.g tourism, industries serving only hareidim, running educational institutions which do provide significant employment and bring in a massive amount of revenue due to the influx of foreign students, etc.).
If the Hareidim took over (think of Aryeh Deri as Prime Minister, and Meir Porush as Leader of the opposition), it would be possible to improve the secular studies in frum schools (paid for in part by ending the tremendous amount wasted on teaching zionism and hiloni’os). However as long as those who rule Israel use control over access to professional education as a tool for fighting Torah, that isn’t possible. Remember, these guys dont’ even want to recognize American degrees since they they include “yeshiva credits” even though non-Jewish institutions and secular Israeli institutions offer courses in the same subjects (albeit in graduate school rather than for 18 year olds).
Hey Akuperma,–
you want to participate in the economy? By all means–what do you want to do? Open up an engineering firm? What can you engineer?
Oh, it’s a problem with educational institutions? You wnat to use Yeshiva credits in grad school? For which courses–chem, biotech, physics 101?
Who will teach in your Hareidi medical school? How many Hareidi professors will you find?
Of course, nobody is topping anyone from attending any institute of higher education in Israel–Jew or Arab, Hareidi or chiloni.
Unlike yeshivot, Universities do not question your philosophy of life–nor do they care about how you dress.
Yes, they have minimum academic qualifications, and will not waive them for your convenience.
Stick to criticizing something that you know about.