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April 19, 2013
Empowering change
Kemach trains ultra-Orthodox for employment.
ANNA HARWOOD INTERNATIONAL MEDIA PLACEMENT
“The people demand social justice!” was the cry heard throughout Israel during the summer of 2011. Countless Israelis took to the streets, placards in hand, and protested the injustice that they believe is present in Israeli society. From the price of cottage cheese through to high taxes, Israel was angry.
Following the dismantling of the protesters’ tent city, which lined Rothschild Boulevard, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government convened the Trajtenberg committee to examine and propose solutions to Israel’s perceived socioeconomic problems.
Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg concluded that discontent among the population stemmed both from economic distress and a profound sense of injustice that sectors of Israeli society were simply not pulling their weight. Not only were they not shouldering the burden incumbent on all citizens to serve in the army, work and pay taxes, furthermore, they were receiving government aid to do so. Israel’s ultra-Orthodox population was under attack.
Trajtenberg wrote that “the great challenge is how to enable and encourage a widespread entry into the world of employment while respecting the unique character of this sector.” With Israel’s growing ultra-Orthodox population now numbering around 800,000, and just 40 percent of working age ultra-Orthodox men employed, the need for a solution is pressing.
Think tanks, journalists and many other Israelis discuss the “Charedi problem,” but very few have actually developed solutions that both respect and empower this fragile community. The ultra-Orthodox believe that the preservation of Jewish heritage and deep-rooted tradition can only occur through continued Torah study, and this is coupled with a deep-seated fear of the secular workplace. Extreme attitudes from the opposite end of the spectrum, demanding a complete integration into Israeli society, compound the problem.
In 2007, a trio of wealthy philanthropists decided to tackle the issue and, with the help of a determined team of directors, who themselves come from the ultra-Orthodox community, they formed the Kemach Foundation. Their vision was to integrate the ultra-Orthodox into the job market using their “insider knowledge” of the community and provide career-appropriate education, enabling community members to work in long-term, decently paid jobs to reverse the cycle of poverty.
“The only feasible solution to this problem needed to come from within the community,” explained Moti Feldstein, director general of Kemach. “We understand the nuances and sensitivities of the various divisions of the ultra-Orthodox community and have a better understanding of where the problem lies.”
For a start, the difference in ultra-Orthodox and general rates of employment is even starker when considering working patterns. In 2010, while 16 percent of workers in the general Israeli population were in part-time positions, 35 percent of the working ultra-Orthodox were in part-time positions. And, while the average monthly household income in Israel approached $4,000, for the ultra-Orthodox, it was just over $2,000. Not only did the ultra-Orthodox have lower rates of employment, but their employment was unpredictable. Low earning potential, coupled with government support declining dramatically as soon as employment begins, produces little incentive to work.
“We needed to find a way to empower the ultra-Orthodox to strive for better earning potential and, in this day and age, it comes through knowledge and training,” said
Feldstein. And so, Kemach (whose Hebrew acronym stands for “promoting Charedi employment”) began a process of assessment, career advice and funding of courses for the ultra-Orthodox community.
Moshe Shechter was on the usual life path for most ultra-Orthodox males. Born in Haifa 39 years ago, he went to cheder, to yeshivah and, finally, to kollel. He married within the community and together he and his wife raised seven children. Two years ago, however, Shechter was devastated to realize he could not provide for his family. “I didn’t know what path to take other than the familiar. I didn’t want to waste time in a dead-end job,” explained Shechter. “I turned to Kemach, having seen their logo on an advertisement for a course for Charedi men being offered in conjunction with the Technion.” Kemach put Shechter through intensive testing to determine suitability and, after a daylong battery of tests, they put his name forward for acceptance.
In late 2011, Shechter was accepted to study geographical information systems and mapping in a brand new Bnei Brak branch of the Technion for religious students. “There is a severe lack of trained professionals in every field of civil and environmental engineering,” said the dean of the faculty at the Technion, Prof. Arnon Bentur. “We will help Charedi students in Bnei Brak acquire a profession that guarantees them a respectable career combining income with a broad vista for advancing in the public and private sectors.”
The decision for Shechter to attend the course was not simple – he had never studied physics or mathematics, and certainly not English. Not deterred by these challenges, he was, however, daunted by the cost. Although his wife worked in between maternity leaves, her saleswoman’s salary was in no way sufficient to support him through school. On top of living expenses and providing for seven children, it seemed unlikely they would be able to afford four years of tuition. Kemach agreed to provide a loan to cover tuition fees and living expenses which, upon completion of the course, will turn into a scholarship. (Kemach has a completion rate of more than 95 percent for all their vocational and academic courses.)
“I am now approaching the end of the initial year and a half of preliminary studies,” remarked Shechter proudly. “It hasn’t been easy and it is a very different environment to the beit midrash [religious study hall], but Kemach ensured that the course was respectful of the requirements of an ultra-Orthodox community [member] and that the student body was serious and motivated to succeed.”
Social work student Mendy Zilbershlag has also seen firsthand how beneficial is the whole package offered by Kemach. The organization “goes a lot further than simply handing out scholarships,” said Zilbershlag. “If they simply handed out money without advice, the money ultimately becomes worthless. With Kemach, I went through evaluations, psychological assessments and received a wealth of career advice before deciding to become a social worker.”
Zilbershlag attends the Charedi College of Jerusalem, which acts as a campus for courses from a range of Israel’s top universities. Zilbershlag’s course is provided by Bar-Ilan University, and is taught separately for men and women. Zilbershlag said that without the support of Kemach he would not have succeeded. His course began with 40 students, now just 10 remain.
“Many families are against academic study and exert immense pressure on students to return to kollel [to full-time religious study]. Additionally, the financial commitments involved in supporting a large family while studying, even part time, is too great a strain on many students.”
Beginning academic study for the first time is nerve-wracking for most new students, but for Zilbershlag and Shechter, being the first university students in their families, they encountered many unexpected challenges: silent lecture theatres as opposed to the hubbub of the beit midrash, citing academic papers as opposed to presenting their own opinions and, for Zilbershlag, encountering professional ethical dilemmas that potentially contradicted Jewish law. But these problems can be overcome and, true to their mission, Kemach is succeeding in overturning the employment difficulties afflicting the ultra-Orthodox community. Upwards of 80 percent of Kemach’s 2,000 graduates are employed, and 70 percent state that they have seen a significant increase in earnings.
Following his critical report on the state of the ultra-Orthodox community, Trajtenberg visited Kemach last year to witness the dramatic change in the employment numbers.
“The Kemach Foundation is contributing ... providing the tools for Charedi Jews who want to contribute their share,” said Trajtenberg. He told the gathered supporters how it was difficult for him to fully relate to a nervous ultra-Orthodox person entering an unfamiliar world, not knowing what is on the other side of the door, but Kemach “relates to him, not just as another statistic, but as a person who has his own needs and his concerns.”
The road to advancing meaningful employment in the ultra-Orthodox community is not simple or one that can be hastened. Change must occur at a steady pace but, as made evident by the 13,000 applicants who have thus far turned to Kemach, it appears the change is welcome. Now, the challenge is how to expand the infrastructure to accommodate this increased demand.
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