"This is not the first time that the governor has attacked haredim in a
racist way. It comes from a world view of blind hatred and lack of
concern for poverty, and he is riding the wave of hatred for haredim. It
is interesting that the governor is not concerned about the Arab
population, which has doubled, but just haredim, just as Pharaoh was
concerned in his day ‘lest they multiply’ and decreed that every son
that is born be killed, and just as anti-Semites in Europe worried about
the growth in the Jewish population.…"
Stanley Fischer
Haredi Lawmakers Equate Bank Of Israel Governor With Nazis
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
On Tuesday, the outgoing Governor of the Bank of Israel Stanley Fischer spoke about the haredi and Arab birthrates, those communities high rates of poverty and the primary reason for that high poverty rate – intentional unemployment.
Haredi men overwhelmingly refuse to work.
Haredi schools also overwhelmingly fail to educate young haredim with the skills and knowledge needed to join the modern workforce, which means that even if haredim would suddenly decide to work, they would need extensive remedial education to be able to do so.
In the Israeli Arab community, it is women who usually do not work, and their intentional unemployment combined with the difficulty Arabs have in getting jobs in the wider economy result in pervasive poverty.
Fischer mentioned both of these communities and noted that their high birthrates would leave secular Israelis a minority in Israel within half a century.
“Another problem is the demographic problem. The growth rate in the haredi population is 4.2%, which means the haredi population will double within 17 years. The Arab population will double within 25 years, while the rest of the population has a 1.7% growth rate, meaning it will double itself in 40 years.”
Fischer warned that if the trends continue, secular Israelis will a minority within 50 years, and Israel’s economy (and its defense) will be unsustainable.
"We have a demographic challenge. If the current growth rates continue, the secular population will become a minority within decades, and the process in which a segment of the population characterized by a low rate of participation in the labor force becomes the majority cannot continue, if we are to maintain the rise in the standard of living. I am pleased that we are already seeing changes in this area,” Fischer said.
The Israeli business daily Globes reports that the haredi response was to accuse Fischer of racism. Fischer was equated with Nazis and antisemites. And the actual issues – haredim who refuse to work and haredi schools that refuse to educate – were ignored by Fischer’s haredi critics.
"This continuing campaign of incitement and sedition against the haredi community is extremely serious and has reached levels where people are supposed to be highly professional. The words of the Governor of the Bank of Israel Stanley Fischer are really terrible and must be condemned and denounced.…It is no surprise after the big cut in child allowances that somebody is saying openly and in a way that is not implicitly two-faced - let's simply destroy them,” MK Meir Porush of Ashkenazi haredi United Torah Judaism party said.
"This is not the first time that the governor has attacked haredim in a racist way. It comes from a world view of blind hatred and lack of concern for poverty, and he is riding the wave of hatred for haredim. It is interesting that the governor is not concerned about the Arab population, which has doubled, but just haredim, just as Pharaoh was concerned in his day ‘lest they multiply’ and decreed that every son that is born be killed, and just as anti-Semites in Europe worried about the growth in the Jewish population. It would be interesting to know what he means by 'this cannot continue' when talking about the demographic problem of the haredim. Thank God that he is soon returning to his country [the US] and I've no doubt that in the US he would not dare express himself in such a way against Hispanics, Mexicans and other population groups,” MK Nissim Ze’evi from the Sefardi haredi Shas Party said.
Related Post: Haredi Population Growth, Poverty, Major Problem For Israel, Outgoing Bank Of Israel Head Says.