A favorite anti-Semitic canard, sprinkled liberally throughout the millennia, revolves around the favorite theme that "the Jews have taken our money." How an oppressed minority managed to do such a thing does not seem to be bound by rules of reason nor logic - but it was often used as an excuse to begin another bloody pogrom.
In the modern country of Israel, many seek to jettison any remaining trace of Jewish identity, at least the kind that we have been using for the past 3,000 years, and to try to become just like everyone else in the world. Often this "makeover" includes embracing anti-Semitic propaganda as their very own. Accordingly, we see frequent articles that try to "blame the victims" for their poverty. A favorite ploy is to blame the results of cruel economic policies on their favorite scapegoat - the Haredim.
Remarkably, just as in medieval Europe, it is the Haredim who are actually robbed of a disproportionate share of their income. That's right. The secular are parasites. We are not referring to the fact that the Haredim produce, how shall we put it, the spiritual energy force that gives us our very existence through their learning of Torah and the performing of mitzvahs; we are talking about straight cash. Haredim pay more and get less. They subsidize the Israeli secular sector.
If you would care to examine the education budget, for example, this disproportion comes to the fore. If you really want equality, then how about instituting a voucher system - in which every child receives the same amount of funding - without the hidden billions that the secular educational system receives via "special allocations"?
The Haredim must also scramble to build their schools, often operating for years out of trailer caravans. Since everyone wants to be so fair and liberal, how about paying the Haredim back for every school and classroom for which they have had to go collecting?
Taxes? The Haredim pay the sales tax, or VAT, just like everyone else. The upper tax percentiles, which carry the bulk of the tax burden, have a disproportionate amount of wealthy Haredim who have taken up residence in Israel - as opposed to in Switzerland or Paris.
True, there are some 30,000 who learn in kollel (advanced Jewish studies) and who don't have conventional employment. There are also over 300,000 drug addicts who take their toll on Israeli society, and the prisons are bursting at the seams. Which groups cost more to support?
In fact, the Haredim produce a large net inflow of funds into Israel. They send their children here to learn and donate generously to keep the educational institutions afloat. They also comprise an inordinately large share of Jewish tourism. Even from a purely financial perspective, more people learning in yeshivas and kollel produce more economic prosperity in Israel.
There are even programs to train Haredim who wish to enter the workforce, but what jobs will be offered to them? With some 270,000 unemployed in Israel, where shall they work?
If we all wish to consider ourselves fair-minded, then we should try to view the Haredi world in a more open, honest and friendly light.
In the modern country of Israel, many seek to jettison any remaining trace of Jewish identity, at least the kind that we have been using for the past 3,000 years, and to try to become just like everyone else in the world. Often this "makeover" includes embracing anti-Semitic propaganda as their very own. Accordingly, we see frequent articles that try to "blame the victims" for their poverty. A favorite ploy is to blame the results of cruel economic policies on their favorite scapegoat - the Haredim.
Remarkably, just as in medieval Europe, it is the Haredim who are actually robbed of a disproportionate share of their income. That's right. The secular are parasites. We are not referring to the fact that the Haredim produce, how shall we put it, the spiritual energy force that gives us our very existence through their learning of Torah and the performing of mitzvahs; we are talking about straight cash. Haredim pay more and get less. They subsidize the Israeli secular sector.
If you would care to examine the education budget, for example, this disproportion comes to the fore. If you really want equality, then how about instituting a voucher system - in which every child receives the same amount of funding - without the hidden billions that the secular educational system receives via "special allocations"?
The Haredim must also scramble to build their schools, often operating for years out of trailer caravans. Since everyone wants to be so fair and liberal, how about paying the Haredim back for every school and classroom for which they have had to go collecting?
Taxes? The Haredim pay the sales tax, or VAT, just like everyone else. The upper tax percentiles, which carry the bulk of the tax burden, have a disproportionate amount of wealthy Haredim who have taken up residence in Israel - as opposed to in Switzerland or Paris.
True, there are some 30,000 who learn in kollel (advanced Jewish studies) and who don't have conventional employment. There are also over 300,000 drug addicts who take their toll on Israeli society, and the prisons are bursting at the seams. Which groups cost more to support?
In fact, the Haredim produce a large net inflow of funds into Israel. They send their children here to learn and donate generously to keep the educational institutions afloat. They also comprise an inordinately large share of Jewish tourism. Even from a purely financial perspective, more people learning in yeshivas and kollel produce more economic prosperity in Israel.
There are even programs to train Haredim who wish to enter the workforce, but what jobs will be offered to them? With some 270,000 unemployed in Israel, where shall they work?
If we all wish to consider ourselves fair-minded, then we should try to view the Haredi world in a more open, honest and friendly light.