Report: Israeli Haredi Community In Financial Collapse

The Israeli haredi community is allegedly in financial collapse, in part because of reduced donations from American haredim fed up with the Israeli haredi refusal to work or to serve in the IDF.

The Israeli edition of Mishpacha's cover story this week is on the financial collapse of the haredi community in Israel. Dozens of kollels (yeshivas for married men) have closed and donations from American haredim have dropped due to what the head of the non-hasidic Ashkenazi haredi kollel network says is incitement against the Torah world in Israel – i.e., as Marty Bluke correctly points out, many haredim in America are no longer willing to support a community that refuses to work, refuses to serve in the military and insists on living on welfare, government stipends and charity.

American haredim for the most part work, and while some American haredi communities have allegedly raised scamming government programs to an art form, many others still find it disgraceful not to work.

They also don't understand why Israeli haredim shouldn't serve in the army when Israel faces real security threats every day.

That, combined with what is still a tough economy for most Americans, has allegedly caused some American haredim to scale back or end their donations to Israeli haredi kollels, yeshivas and charities.

Add to that the Israel government's cut in funding to haredi yeshivas equals the financial collapse of the Israeli haredi community.

[Hat Tip: JewishWorker.]

Comments

[Alter Kocker]

Well maybe its time to stop and become part of Israeli society: Work, pay taxes and serve in the armed forces.

[Garnel Ironheart]

First of all, we've been hearing about the imminent collapse of the Israeli Chareidi community for years. Still waiting for it to happen.
Second, even if the kollels all close there will still be plenty for Chareidim to do all day like mill around the streets of Meah Shearim and Beit Shemesh threatening violence and spitting on all those they don't like the look of.
Third, American Gedolim are subservient to Israeli ones. If the layfolk aren't sending money it might be because they still haven't recovered from the financial crash and barely have enough funds to keep their own kollels open.

[jancsibacsi]

The hareidim are collapsing under their own weight they became so fat of gorging themself on free handouts that now when they dont get it they are helpless because they made themselfs so over the years by not caring about their own future what a shame.

[Rocky]

"Bennett: 32% of grade 1 students are haredim, Israel will not survive without their integration" This headline appeared as a related item to the story on Israel's population on today's jpost.com website. The Bennett article first appeared in Oct. 2013, but it is an indication of how serious a problem Israel faces.

[Allan]

This is very good news. This entire dysfunctional non-working haredi lifestyle depends on wealthy non-religious Jews who are the “sugar daddies” and enablers of this way of life. However these donors are feeling the financial pinch in this economy, like all of us.

Wealthy Jewish donors must be made aware of the true nature of the lifestyle they are enabling. Many of them have an unrealistic and nostalgic “Fiddler on the Roof” understanding of the haredi lifestyle. Hopefully many have found their way to this website for a dose of reality. If they have excess income earmarked for donations to Israel they should be urged to donate to services for the IDF, hospitals and medical research, Yad Vashem, Israeli universities etc. – NOT to kollels, yeshivas and other worthless haredi time wasters.

[jancsibacsi]

Allan--"worthless haredi time wasters."
Thats a good one:)forgot to say and money wasters and life wasters.

[FailedMessiahShmuck]

It would be news if it was true. Yes Hareidim are struggling because of government cuts and financial troubles of the American Jews, but the reason Americans are not sending money is because of the Army?? LMAO. All Hareidim publicly support their brethren in their fight against conscription into the Armed forces.

BTW lets dispel a major myth here. If Israel wants Hareidim to work so badly then release them from their Army obligation and many will go to work. The forced servitude with irreligious and anti-religious people is the main issue that's stopping the Hareidim of serving!! But of course, the reason the government wants Hareidim to serve is not about service but integration with their corrupt society

[jancsibacsi]

FailedMessiahShmuck---Nobody but nobody is more corrupt then youre hassidishe world with the rebbes toghether,but you dont want to see that do you,you are a moron you want youre way and others to support you in youre madness the isolate youreselfs from reality you dont want to comprimise with the real world you want the real world to cater to youre every whim,youre whole ultra world is a make beleive to self agrandize youreselfs so you should think you are the answer to everything that ails this planet go get help you are mentally unbalanced deranged.

[FailedMessiahShmuck]

Jancsi - we will not serve!!! Get that into your head! If you want to starve us out, lets see where that takes us, otherwise treat us like arabs and release us from your army's grasp. We will take care of ourselves thank you very much!!

[S M L]

"...We will take care of ourselves thank you very much!!..."

Really? How? By becoming farmers? "Your army's grasp" ? Wake up and smell the coffee: if it's "your" army then get the hell out of Israel and find some other place to live assuming there's anyplace that will accept you. It won't be anywhere in Europe nor in North America. The Muslim world isn't rolling out the red carpet either. Maybe Putin needs some bodies to populate the Russian Far East. Where do you come off with your spectacular arrogance?

[Yosef ben Matitya]

whey they say themselves that they are collapsing, it could be just the opposite.

[Glatt some questions]

The Haredi society is an unsustainable economic model, and it finally is catching up with them -- probably a bit quicker than I thought because of the recent IDF news.

[Robert J. Barron, Attorney-at-Law]

@FailedMessiahShmuck---> "We will take care of ourselves thank you very much!!".....

That ALONE was worth the price of admission! And it's the funniest thing I've heard all week!

Take care of yourselves how? Your men have no real skills; they aren't educated in anything besides the Torah; your women are at home taking care of 6/7/8 children....

....frankly, you sound like a angry child who has just discovered that his parents have been lying to him all these years about how there really IS a Santa Claus who will make sure he doesn't have to work, can sit there all day and study, and his wife can have 6/7/8 kids, and his rich Uncle Chaim will pay all his bills......

....but then he discovers that Uncle Chaim is tired of doing so, and now the child is enraged b/c his parents never told him that he would have to acquire skills/get an education....and he now realizes such is necessary for his survival, and his family's survival.

On a more serious note, life is tough for most people. Now get out there and get some skills, get some education, and step up.

[ah-pee-chorus]

Great news!! May it continue and accelerate!!

FailedMessiahShmuck -

Many American charedi do not agree on IDF. Regardless, many also disapprove of the 'no work' mentality since most here work. And let's say the reason is a lack of funds, does that make the approaching collapse any better?

+++ If Israel wants Hareidim to work so badly then release them from their Army obligation and many will go to work++++

That's EXACTLY what Israel did!! Starting this month, ALL charedim over 21 are immediately free to work. All they have to do is get an official release. And guess what ; the charedi gedolim are telling them NOT to. They want to keep them enslaved in the yeshiva and mired in poverty.

[mau]

I've heard Gafni (or it was other charedi MK?) on charedi radio this morning. He assured listeners that yeshibotniks will never go to work or army, everyone will remain in yeshiva.

Let's see...

[FailedMessiahShmuck]

Robert J. Barron "attorney" - Just 1 small question, have you heard of Paul Reichmann, Ruvie Sharon, George Hofsteter, Samuel Gross, Joseph Tabak, etc. etc. etc. All men with yeshiva Educations who have amassed Billion Dollar fortunes? the Forbes 400 is full of people without a college education who made it pretty well. Im thinking if you are a real attorney you have performed work for some old guy who could barely speak English yet makes more money in one day than you do in a year.

As I said, Hasidim in America have done pretty well for themselves, and our brothers in Israel will do the same as soon as the corrupt and bigoted government releases their hold over them.

@Ah - pee - chorus: Wow that's wrong! Taking an official release now means submitting to future conscription into the Army. Hareidim in Israel will not take a release so the Army can come wave that in their face in 2 years. Its as simple as that.

[Rocky]

FMS: The late Paul Reichmann was a self made billionaire, but he is now deceased. As for the others, I couldn't find them on the Forbes 400 list and I had never heard of them before reading your posting.

[S M L]

".....our brothers in Israel will do the same as soon as the corrupt and bigoted government releases their hold over them......"

With what skills, knowlege or understanding? They're even more cloistered than those in the US. Israel is a pretty small sandbox for them to play and do business in compared to the US where a career as a slumlord can be lucrative as long as you stay away from dumpsters. Here they've got millions and millions of others to steal from and cheat - all kinds of goyim. That model isn't going to work in Israel, not on the same scale.

My apologies to those US Haredim who are legally and gainfully employed.

[Feminista]

"...have you heard of Paul Reichmann, Ruvie Sharon, George Hofsteter, Samuel Gross, Joseph Tabak, etc. etc. etc. All men with yeshiva Educations who have amassed Billion Dollar fortunes?"
Have you heard of Max Starck, Ovadia Yosef, Yoshiyahu Pinto, Mordchai Fish, and Solomon Dwek? Also men that have Yeshiva so-called educations that have become rich. Your answer probably reveals more than you wanted it to about the Haredi mind-set. The only thing you held up about this list of men that you think so much of, is that they are rich. Fine, but the important thing is, how did they make the money, what did they do with it once they got it, and did they do anything for humanity versus their own little group? Don't even bother to tell us now how great they were since you're the one who brought them up because they were rich and relatively uneducated.

Thank you, but I will reserve my admiration for another Jew, a well educated acquaintance of my parents and a secular Jew who had a chance to make a great deal of money through his invention/discovery but instead, decided to release it free of charge so that the maximum number of people could benefit. The name? Jonas Salk. I would put him up against and group of Yeshiva bochers any day of the week.

[mau]

@Feminista: I'm not sure Ovadiya Yosef fits your list well. He was ignorant bigot, but AFAIK not too reach or even greedy. His family is another matter. Police recently recommended to indict one of his sons.

[FailedMessiahShmuck]

@Rocky

Read and weep.

http://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/the-modest-mogul/

http://www.hr-reit.com/Corporate-Profile/Officers.aspx

[FailedMessiahShmuck]

Wow Feminista you missed the point in a big way. We are talking about people supporting themselves without a college education, The people I names are rich and frum. there are countless others which I don't have to name.

Bernie Madoff was not a Yeshiva Graduate and he made the biggest chillul hashem in American history, so.....

[mau]

@FMShmuck: so, you've shown that few US uneducated charedim are probably rich. Few of Israeli charedim are rich too - e.g. Leviev. Now, in Israel charedim are in economical crises. Leviev cannot eliminate it. From the other side educated secular Israelis are doing quite well. Conclusion is obvious.

[ah-pee-chorus]

+++ Taking an official release now means submitting to future conscription into the Army. Hareidim in Israel will not take a release so the Army can come wave that in their face in 2 years. Its as simple as that.

Posted by: FailedMessiahShmuck | May 01, 2014 at 12:51 PM+++

HA! The state can draft them any time they want. Boys who don't register aren't safe from the armys grasp. So to claim that obtaining a release somehow places them at increased risk of being drafted sounds like utter lunacy. Do you have a source for this?

[Feminista]

@FailedMessiahShmuck - It is you who have missed the point. A good formal education is not necessary to be rich, but your list of Yeshiva educated men seem to have no other virtue than their ability to rake in money. An education, a real one rather than a Yeshiva "education," insures nothing, but at least it gives you the potential to do some good for humanity at large, which at this point, I am not seeing as even a priority in the Haredi community.

[ah-pee-chorus]

Schmuck-

no answer?