Majority of haredim: We're not racist

Nearly 70% of Israel's ultra-Orthodox residents believe there is hardly any racism in their society, according to Ynet poll conducted following Emmanuel affair; 75% of haredim believe High Court's handling of case was unfair

Kobi Nahshoni |Published: 07.12.10 , 07:43

Most members of Israel's ultra-Orthodox public believe there is hardly any racism in their society, according to a special poll ordered by Ynet following the compromise in the Emmanuel discrimination affair.

The findings also showed that the haredim believe the High Court of Justice is hostile towards them, but that they are the ones who won the battle over education in Emmanuel.

The survey was conducted by the Shiluv Millward Brown research institute among a national, random and representative sample of the ultra-Orthodox public, which included 500 haredi Hebrew-speaking men and women, aged 18 and up.

In response to the question, "Regardless to the Emmanuel affair, do you believe there is any racism among the haredi society?" 68% said no - 40% who said they believed it only existed in the margins, and 28% who said they did not see any racism at all. Seventeen percent said it "exists widely", and the rest didn't know.

A segmentation of the results into the different factions in the haredi public showed that 34% of Sephardim believe racism is widely prevalent – a view which is shared by only 10% of Hasidim and 9% of Lithuanian Orthodox Jews.

An analysis of the findings showed that the lower the respondents' age, the higher the percentage of those who identify racism in the haredi society.

In the second part of the survey, respondents were asked about their opinion on the High Court's handling of the Emmanuel affair. Seventy-five percent said the court was unfair to the haredi public, while only 7% said the judges acted fairly. The rest did not respond.

This question illustrated the difference between Sephardim and Ashkenazim as well: Fifty-six percent of Sephardim believe the High Court was unfair and 11% believe its ruling was fair, while among Lithuanians the results were 87% and 1% (respectively) and among Hasidim – 83% and 5%.

Among those who said the court's handling of the case was unfair, 43% estimate that this stemmed from tendentious hostility and discrimination against the haredim, and 34% believe it is all about "lack of understanding and ignorance" regarding the haredi worldview. Twelve percent said the judges took a strict approach for deterrence purposes, while the remaining 11% explained the hostility in other ways or refused to respond.

So who won?

Who won in the struggle over education in Emmanuel? According to 47% of the survey's respondents, the haredim won; 25% said both sides capitulated, so neither won; 8% said both sides won as a common route was found; and only 1% were convinced that the High Court had the upper hand. The rest did not respond.

An analysis of the results showed that 59% of Lithuanians and 55% of Hasidim believe the haredim won the battle, compared to only 30% of Sephardim. Forty-one percent of the latter said both sides had won or that both had lost, and this view is shared by 24-30% of Ashkenazim.

According to Israel Oleinik, CEO of Shiluv Millward Brown, "The perception in the haredi sector is that the High Court's handling of the Emmanuel affair was unfair, particularly due to tendentious hostility and discrimination."

He added, "The poll also shows that about half of the haredi public believes the haredim defeated the High Court in the struggle over education, although a significant segment of about one-quarter of the sector believes no one won and both sides capitulated.

"The perception of victory is higher among Hasidim and Lithuanians – twice as much as it is among Sephardim," Oleinik concluded.