Regarding “Moving Charedim Into Israeli Workforce” (Editor’s column, Dec. 18): This article is written in a nasty way that only exacerbates division among Jewish groups.
Even if you think the charedi community’s position about serving as a spiritual benefit to Israel is laughable, it is hard to ignore the fact that the charedim are the only ones taking responsibility, as a sector, to raise Jewish families at a birthrate necessary to keep Israel demographically Jewish, instead of Arab.
Nobody can deny that in the current Middle East, that is an existential need that all Jewish Israelis share. Along with that is the sacrifice of what it means to live and grow up in and raise your own family in poverty. How many other Israelis are raising families of 8-12 kids who are also not living in poverty? I imagine quite a few.
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