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{"id":586,"date":"2010-12-29T23:53:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-29T23:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2010\/12\/torah-and-deception-in-the-land-of-israel.html"},"modified":"2010-12-29T23:53:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-29T23:53:00","slug":"torah-and-deception-in-the-land-of-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2010\/12\/torah-and-deception-in-the-land-of-israel.html","title":{"rendered":"Torah And Deception In The Land Of Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Yesterday\u2019s New York Times <\/i>had a piece about the problem of voluntary Haredi unemployment in Israel<\/a>.\u00a0 There are currently 70,000 married men whom the government has classified as \u201cTorah is their profession.\u201d\u00a0 (The Times<\/i> article incorrectly states that there are 60,000.)\u00a0 They are, therefore, exempt from army and supposedly studying in a kolel \u2013 a yeshivah for married men \u2013 all day long.\u00a0 This is a permanent student exemption from military service which precludes them from seeking work.<\/p>\n

With more than 60% of adult Haredi males unemployed, it\u2019s no surprise that 56% of all Haredi Jews live below the poverty line.\u00a0 What the article doesn\u2019t tell us is that an enormous number of these kolelniks are also committing fraud.<\/p>\n

In last weekend\u2019s print edition of the Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot<\/i> there was an expose about the large number of them who work and receive payment under the table.\u00a0 This way they don\u2019t have to give up their subsidies, the kolels still receive state-paid tuition, and no one has to serve in the army.<\/p>\n

The newspaper took out help wanted ads in the Haredi community and received an overwhelming response.\u00a0 Yet almost none of the job seekers was willing to be paid legally.\u00a0 Instead they tried to work out ways to get paid through a family member or in cash.<\/p>\n

In addition to the handouts and free tuition, they also receive substantial discounts on a very large number of taxes and services.\u00a0 According to the article, those who are cheating see no problem with it since the state is illegitimate in their eyes anyway.<\/p>\n

There are signs of hope, but they are small compared to the size of the problem.\u00a0 If you really want to worry about Israel\u2019s future, this is what should worry you.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"