In recent weeks, much has been said about the importance of core education in the Haredi sector in the context of coalition funds, which include billions of shekels for Haredi educational institutions that do not teach core curriculum, thereby reducing the chances of Haredi children integrating into the employment market in the future.
Meanwhile, data on the ground show that in recent years there has been a significant improvement in some of the data related to Haredi education and employment.
Haredi students at the start of the current school year (the subjects have nothing to do with the information), Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
For example, the number of Haredi students taking the matriculation exams – even if they are not eligible for a certificate – increased from 24 per cent to 44 per cent (2008-2021). Within five years, the number of those eligible for a bagrut exam in the Haredi education system rose from 2% to 6%, and among Haredi girls from 20% to 25% (2016-2021).
This is according to the Israel Democracy Institute's 2023 Yearbook of Haredi Society, now in its eighth year, which surveys the changes that have taken place in recent decades in Haredi society in a variety of areas, including education, employment, and lifestyle.
The survey also shows that at the beginning of 2023, the number of yeshiva students and Avrachi Kollel Haredim was about 156,036. After a year in which the growth in the number of yeshiva students and yeshiva students slowed to 2.5 per cent, in 2022, at the end of which the ultra-Orthodox parties returned to the coalition, it increased again by 4.1 per cent.
"The cost of the ongoing slowdown strike at Haifa Port is tens of times higher than the cost of meetings," Photo: Nati Shochat
It should be noted that yeshiva students are unmarried Haredim, and the vast majority are under the age of 23. Avrachim are married Haredim, the vast majority of whom persist in their studies in the kollel for many years and even after the age of 31. MJB researchers note that there is a significant connection between the presence of the ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition and the rate of growth in the number of yeshiva students and yeshiva students. Since 1999, the only years in which there has been a decline in their numbers were 2014-2013.
The ultra-Orthodox population in Israel is approximately 1,335,000, constituting 13.6% of the total population. The percentage of young adults up to age 19 in the Haredi population is 58%, compared to 31% in the general Jewish population. In 2030, the Haredi population is expected to reach 16% of the total population, while the share of Haredim up to age 20 is expected to be about one million and constitute 25% of this age group.
Ministry of Education, Photo: Gideon Markowitz
Technology professions at the top
Higher education: About 16,700 Haredi students, constituting 5% of all students, studied in 2022/23. Their number increased by about 900 students during the year, an increase of 7 per cent. 69% of Haredi students are women.
Another interesting statistic that emerges from the study is that 15% of Haredi students study computer science (compared to 13.5% among non-Haredi students). That's a 63% jump in four years. Among Haredi men, the share of Haredi students studying computer science is much lower than that of non-Haredi Jewish students (19% vs. 28.5%, respectively).
The editor of the Yearbook of Haredi Society, Dr. Gilad Malach, explains the data in a conversation with Israel Hayom: "Haredi society is a 'society of learners' that designates its sons to focus on Torah study, and as a result, there has been a dramatic change in the role of women in this society. If a few decades ago they went out to work as teachers, today, in order to maintain their household, they are forced to work in quality employment, in many cases in technology professions."
Haredi students studying computer, photo: Noam Rivkin Fenton
Malach adds: "As a result, the curriculum in Haredi high schools for girls, which now includes English, mathematics and technological tracks, has changed rapidly, as has the training system in post-secondary seminars, which in recent years has a variety of technological tracks. Many Haredi women prefer to receive full academic technological training, usually on an ultra-Orthodox campus, and so we have reached a situation where the percentage of women studying computer science is even higher than non-Haredi Jewish women."
Malach continued, "This change allows many Avrachim to continue studying in the kollel, and therefore in recent years we have seen an increase in the number of Avrachim that is no less than the growth rate of Haredi society. The only cases in which the increase in the number of Avrachim was halted were due to great economic pressure on Haredi society or when support in the yeshiva world decreased.
"We saw this in 2003 with a cut in child allowances, and in 2013 with a cut in the budget for yeshivas and kollels. We may also see this in the near future as a result of the economic crisis expected following the war or as a result of new priorities of the next government."
Haredi street (the subjects have no connection to the article), photo: Oren Ben Hakon
New record
Another optimistic statistic relates to employment in Haredi society. In 2023, a new record has been recorded in the number of working women and men: about 110,000 Haredi men of prime working age (64-25), constituting 55% of Haredi men, work – a figure not seen since 1995. This is a continuation of the increase observed in 2022 to about 53 per cent, after standing still at rates of 52-50 per cent in 2021-2015.
Moreover, in 2023, the number of Haredi women working at prime working ages crossed the 80 per cent threshold for the first time and jumped to 157,000, up from 142,000 last year. It should be noted that the 2023 data are correct for the first three quarters, and it is possible that the final figure for 2023 will be lower, especially among Haredi men, due to the situation in the economy alongside coalition funds for religious institutions.
However, the average monthly income of Haredi men dropped from 76 per cent in 2003 to 50 per cent of the average monthly income among non-Haredi Jews in 2021. That year, it was NIS 9,707 compared to NIS 19,279 among non-Haredi Jewish men. Haredi women earned an average of NIS 8,230 a month that year, 67% of the average monthly income among non-Haredi Jewish women (NIS 12,330).
Decline in the incidence of poverty
There was a decline in the incidence of poverty among Haredi families from 39 per cent in 2015 to 34 per cent in 2021, a very high figure compared to the general population (21 per cent in 2021). It is possible that the decline stems from an increase in the employment rate of Haredi women and an increase in the level of income among workers, alongside an increase in state support for Avrachim and child allowances. At the same time, the share of Haredi children living below the poverty line after paying benefits stood at 47% in 2021.
Household income: Within six years, there has been a 19 per cent increase in gross monthly income for Haredi households (from NIS 12,616 in 2015 to NIS 14,978 in 2021), but the income is still 55 per cent lower than the gross income for a non-Haredi Jewish household (NIS 22,047).
An ultra-Orthodox family in Modi'in Illit (the subjects have no connection to the report), Photo: None
The editors of the Yearbook of Haredi Society, Dr. Gilad Malach and Dr. Lee Kahner of the Israel Democracy Institute, note that "there is a clear trend of an increase in the standard of living of Haredi households, as a result of a jump in the share of Haredi women working and a renewed increase in the share of Haredi men working after several years of stagnation."
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