Agudath Israel School System Fires Older Female Teachers, Hires Younger, Cheaper Teachers In Their Place – Only Women Fired, Rabbis Keep Jobs And Pay

A haredi private school system is granted public funding. Even so, it can't make ends meet. So its rabbinic leaders devise a plan – fire as many senior teachers as possible and replace them with new recruits, fresh out of school and much cheaper to employ than veteran teachers. The rabbis do it, even though most of the fired teachers are their family's sole breadwinners. Many have been with the school system for more than 25 years. Worse yet, no administrators (i.e., rabbis), no matter how highly paid, are fired.

At first the older teachers go silently, upset but unwilling to challenge the leaders of the school system because those leaders hold not only the schools' purse strings – they also control other community organizations and wield great communal influence. But then some teachers stand up. They refuse to go quietly. They bring their concerns to the government. And, when the school system will not relent, with the permission of a major non-hasidic religious leader, Rabbi Aryeh Leib Steinman, the teachers sue.

The teachers win the lawsuit and are allowed to form a union to protect themselves. But the school system refuses to recognize the union because the teachers are women and in the haredi community women are not allowed to hold positions of communal authority.

Meanwhile, the government makes clear the source of the school system's financial troubles – mismanagement.

So what school system is this? Agudath Israel kindergartens, largely under the control of the Ger hasidic dynasty. And who fired these long-serving teachers? The haredi rabbis who run – and mismanage – those schools. Who pays for that mismanagement with their tax dollars? The citizens of Israel.

You can read the whole story here. (If the link doesn't work, a PDF of the article follows …)

Download ultraorthodox_women_unite_haaretz_israel_news.pdf

[Hat Tip: Ben Max.]

Comments

[yona loriner]

thats ot true ur reporting wrong!!! they left on their own its called retiring!!!!!

[Isa]

80%to 90% of all USA companies age discriminate either in hiring/firing. Age discrimination in the USA starts at age 45 with some companies and age 50 with the rest.In Israel, I have been told it starts at age 40. Sure sign of age discrimination:Application form includes a page where it asks for Social Security number, Driver license number and BIRTH DATE. Advice: Stay with your field, your direct experience & knowledge will be more important than age.

[zach]

Yona, before you make a stupid comment READ the article - they were fired, not retired! (Schoolteacher retires at 47?)

[R]

Then the kids get a stupid education and because they aren't answered any proper questions on their faith, they end up doing drugs and hanging around cursing out the teachers of their youth who couldn't handle a class of kids and got no respect due to not handling a bit of rowdiness.
I see a vicious circle...glad i won't send my kids to such an institution.

to Isa:

would you call that a post or a rant. did you discrimnate against someone due to their age, and are now trying to justify it as "everyone does it". in the US, age discrimination laws kics in at age 40, and while there exists age discrimination, 80% to 90% is simply ludicrous. if it were that high, the courts would be clogged with such cases, and they would be so common we would never read about it in newspapers. There is not a single large or mid size company in the US that will ask the birth date or drivers license number or SS# from a prospective employee, unless it is specifically relevant to the job - such as checking a persons driving record prior to employing him/her as a truck driver, without finding itself in an immediate position of being sued. Go to any office supply store and look at the standard job application stationary, and see if it asks for any of that information.

[james]

This happens here also in the USA. How much oversite is there over any yeshiva?

[R]

age discrimination is illegal in the UK. You can no longer ask for a date of birth on a CV.
However, people still are ageist and it's not only against the old people, it's against the young ones too sometimes. If you have kids you are discriminated against and if you could have kids.
But if you proof of discrimination in the UK you can sue sue sue.
But in Israel they have nothing to go on and the unions are a waste of space.

[Isa]

To No name
This is what happened to me- this is my experience. This is not a rant as I tried to calmly describe my experience.
Now the form where they ask the three questions (SS #, Driver's # and birth date) is quite separate. The courts really have not figured what REALLY constitutes age discrimination. To really sue one needs something else beside statistics perhaps a private memo that says "we need to get rid of these old folks" To be really safe a company will get rid of the older workers plus a younger worker who doesn't fit in. Lest you think that I didn't 'keep up with the times' I earned a computer science degree at age 53 (in 2003) starting the course of study in 1997. I am a electronic tech so the CS degree meshes very well. If you are laid off at age 50 or beyond, it will be very tough to get employed again. I believe this all has to do with health insurance and how a company has to pay for increased premiums for the number of older workers that it has.
Now, my advice during an interview that you KNOW they will not hire you is to go through with the interview and get better with each interview so when one runs into a company that will ignore the age, you got your act together

[Isa]

Oh by the way
Young married women are discriminated against. They figure they will get pregnant and be out of work for some time. Advice: remove wedding ring.

[Isa]

To No name
This is what happened to me- this is my experience. This is not a rant as I tried to calmly describe my experience.
Now the form where they ask the three questions (SS #, Driver's # and birth date) is quite separate. The courts really have not figured what REALLY constitutes age discrimination. To really sue one needs something else beside statistics perhaps a private memo that says "we need to get rid of these old folks" To be really safe a company will get rid of the older workers plus a younger worker who doesn't fit in. Lest you think that I didn't 'keep up with the times' I earned a computer science degree at age 53 (in 2003) starting the course of study in 1997. I am a electronic tech so the CS degree meshes very well. If you are laid off at age 50 or beyond, it will be very tough to get employed again. I believe this all has to do with health insurance and how a company has to pay for increased premiums for the number of older workers that it has.
Now, my advice during an interview that you KNOW they will not hire you is to go through with the interview and get better with each interview so when one runs into a company that will ignore the age, you got your act together

[DK]

I'm sure the Gedoylim had a good reason for doing this. Stop acting like you know everything, Shmarya. I am sure the Gedoylim know things you don't. And anyway, if this is how these women act -- suing \when the decision was ratified by daas Toyrah -- then the women are clearly not really frum anyway, and the school did the right thing getting rid of them.

[shmuel]

"I'm sure the Gedoylim had a good reason for doing this. Stop acting like you know everything, Shmarya. I am sure the Gedoylim know things you don't. And anyway, if this is how these women act -- suing \when the decision was ratified by daas Toyrah -- then the women are clearly not really frum anyway, and the school did the right thing getting rid of them."
Moron. The "gedoylim" were probably never consulted by anyone. The Aguda in Israel did this act of age discrimination all on its own. Do you really think the "gedoylim" would approve firing a woman who is supporting her husband and children and grandchildren in kollel?
Further, they sued when they lost their livelihood---ratified by "daas toirah" or not. They would starve if it were up to you, idiot. Hater of humanity. Misogynist. You wouldn't care if dozens of women lost their jobs and they and their families starved. "The women are probably not frum anyway." Shoteh. Fool. These are Chasidic women who have worked for 25 years. Not frum? YOU'RE not frum. And Rabbi Steinman sided with THEM, not you and your idiot corrupt Agudah trolls.

[noclue]

Shmuel, the comment above yours (not posted by me) was obviously sarcasm.

[Think Again]

I'd just like to point out that Rabbi Steinman and the Ger rebbe are close friends. I'm glad to see that Rabbi Steinman showed no favoritism in ruling that these teachers could sue the ger school system, even though it would cause the ger dynasty some trouble and bad press.

[yona loriner]

its such bs!

[Lev]

ThinkAgain it's not true.
Rabbi Alter has large real estate holdings, Rabbi Shteinman has only very modest appartment in "Bnei Borok".
Shmarya, did you notice very cozy relationship between Ger(Gur) and Mashihisten, despite the latter hatred of "peilishe" and other religious Jews?
Previous Grand Rabbi,P.M.Alter said that Schneersonists "took Moshiah out of freezer"
Did he ever daven Amidah of weekday, yom tov, Rosh Hashana?!
Reason for that is as always: Gutnik, Levaev, et al.

[The Heilge Rebbe of Otisville]

If this ts the way they treat their kind, think of how they treat other Jews and gentiles. There are many from companies who fire employees and refuse to approve unemployment payments (the state pay for it) . They do not care if the Puerto Rican or the shwartze will lose their place and will become homeless.

One day those frumies will get themselves beaten to the pulp and will cry Anti-Semitism, Anti-Semitism and wonder why people hate them.

[Eliezer]

Although age discrinination in the US certainly exists there are also many companies that appreciate the experience and knowledge that an older employee can bring with him. Older employees also tend to be more stable. I have been in and out of Israel for the last 30 years having returned again when I was 50 years old. I speak Hebrew fluently and have a very marketable background. No one would hire me at any price and I eventually became an independent contractor. The attitudes of your typical employer in Israel are probably decades behind those of employers in the US. There is also a very serious problem enforcing labor laws here. A discrimination law suite can drag on for up to a decade. By the time the court makes any decision half of the litigants may be dead. I believe that the longest case in labor court here dragged on for 15 years and this was not a complicated case involving a class action law suite. With a record like that no one in their right mind would even bother to sue. It would be appropriate to expect that a religious organization would have a higher standard of conduct, however from my own personal experiences I have not found this to be the situation.

[Isa]

Bringing an age discrimination brings an additional hazard:
Crooked law office who will say your case has merit, take your money so they can keep busy. By the time you find your case was rejected for trial - you are out of $25,000 to $50,000. We almost went this route- but 'smelled a rat' and backed off.
I did get stung with a crooked law office for doing my father estate- we got stung $2,000 but we fired them before any more damage was done.

[r.singer]

Isa
I've learned Shmarya actually does know everything. Just accept it, you'll feel better:-)
BTW even though in the U.S. its not 'legal' to ask about age etc. employers are allowed to run credit checks, do drug tests. Which means access to personal info including age.

I work at a university, for every one of us that leaves, for other jobs or retirement, replacements, when made, are all fresh out of college, often without relevant experience and certainly lacking history of the institution or its alumni. Very effective for raising needed funds.

[Isa]

Per the above comment:
Actually employers are allowed 'background checks' That call for: 1 Drivers license number 2 Social security number 3 Date of birth. I filled many of those forms out. Now of course, I am employed.