I'd be satisfied with my life too if I didn't work and had my wife or the Israeli taxpayer to support me and didn't have to go in the army, What's not to like. Why do you call it dim statistics? They choose not to work.

Apparently, all the talkbacks that appear on this site from disgusted Israelis about the Haredim not contributing to society weren't exaggerated after all.

So why is it that these religious parasites who hate Israel, hate secular people, call us every vile name under the sun, do not work, do not pay taxes , do not serve in the army and then get me to fund their lifestyle? The only reason is they know they can get away with it here. Do the charideem in Antwerp and London and NY sponge off the state? No they dont because they have no choice . We need to cut their benefits now!

Is there a job for me in Israel? I worked in the auto industry for 20 years but with the economic situation here I have not found a contract for 2 years. I would make aliyah in a heartbeat IF I KNEW THAT IN ISRAEL I COULD FIND A JOB. If you can help this one Haredi find a job and make aliyah, would it be worth all your complaining?

It should be stated that there are thousands of hareidi women employed in the high tech sector, in sweatshop like conditions. And they earn a top salary of about NIS 6000.

I GET UP AT 6 (along with my wife, boys and daughter who also must get up to go to work) (all of us are college educated and professionals), daven, go to work, get back home at 7, quickly eat supper and go to learn afterwards, collapsing into bed by 11 most of my friends and their children do the same we - working charedim & charedim lite - are proof that the above statistics are wrong i know more unemployed secular guys that unemployed datiyim where do they get their statistics ???

it this tolerated? Who pays their bills?

Take the teat of welfare out of their mouths and they will goto work. Look at America, England Canada here the hassidim are in many ways rather experienced and prosporous businesspeople. If they go to work,in a very short time, not only will they be prosporous but they will be a challenge for all those who deride them. Then we will see what the Jewish anti-semites will have to say, wont we.

There's no auto industry here, but there are lots of jobs. I'm not sure what your specific talents are - so do a cheshbon nefesh and figure it out for yourself. There is 12% unemployment in Israel. What does that mean? It means that 88% of the people have jobs. Can you get a job in the auto industry? Of course not, cuz it doesn't exist here. Can you get a job doing something? Yes. And we have socialized medicine and day schools are more or less free compared to what you pay in the USA. The bottom line: If you want to live in Israel you move to Israel. The job will come and is secondary to making the existential shift. It may not be in your field and you may bus tables or clean floors at the beginning, but there are jobs to be had if you want to work. Talk to Nefesh b'Nefesh (go to their website - they have an entire department of people to handle employment) and talk to your local aliya advisor. Good luck.

Try out your plan here where there are more people on welfare than working. Just cut off benefits. What a great way to make jobs. Wow, nobody ever thought of that before. You will be a hero. I don't take welfare and I don't have a job because the economy here sucks. My savings will soon run out. Maybe your magic ideas can get Michigan back in shape again. Do it!

If you want to keep people poor stupid and dependent they you ply them with welfare. Take away welfare and in very short order people will find their way and people will be employed. Welfare breeds a very poor quality of life. Unless you are in a nursing home, insane or physically disabled there should be no welfare for you period.

Strange that as i am a CEO of a hightech company that also employs charideem whose salary is amongst the highest in the country. SweatShop conditions? Umm i dont think my employees would agree with that one either. Please provide facts to back up your claim.

ok, those you mention for sure constitute the percentage that work, but the rest.... becoming fatter and fatter with our taxes... and that's true. I appreciate the study Torah, BUT not with MY money, fruit of my job.

The people who are so hateful of Haredim forget about all the people in the secular world who don't actually work either. The Haredim mostly learn Torah, which is the basis for everything Jewish and they work very hard at it. If Israel were governed by Torah law it would seem practical. Right now it makes them and everyone around them better Jews. Do these secular hypocrites complain about all the people working as students or professors of really useless subjects or see that as not working? Like Greek mythology, Italian literature, music, art, etc. These things may be fun or interesting, but they really are of no value. Or people who run gambling casinos or strip clubs. Or pornographers. Or even actors and musicians. Are any of these of real use? Torah study in a Jewish country is much more valuable. And the people who engage in this don't earn the kind of money that the people do who engage in the useless endeavors that I mentioned. But I don't hear any complaints about the exorbitant amounts of money that actors or athletes earn.

Congratulations to Baruch. He is now become the maven of what is important . Actually Baruch your obvious distaste for the secular becomes quite apparent in that sichening diatribe. It is nice to learn what is valuable and what is useless. Fortunately your point of view is positive merely for a minute portion of the Jewish world. Only those, who like you, have lost what the Torah stands for, may find your rant educational.

Baruch of Tel Aviv, perhaps if those herediim ladies were given the opportunity to get an education in something other than having a dozen children, they could earn enough to support their families. We read that your leaders think that any education beyond learning how to read the Torah is unnecessary. Math seems to mean how to count the number of offspring you have so you can recieve more from the government for their support. The Israelis I speak with feel that it would be a great thing if the 37% who do work would turn around and support the other 63% who find honest labor beneath them. You have made your bed, if you find it uncomfortable, you have the opporturnity to do something constructive for yourselves and Israel. Complaining doesn't mean a thing.

If the herediim wish to work and earn their own way, why would the secular condemn them? Your ranting is that of a fool who finds the truth to be distasteful. Al, it quite likely that you are the Jewish anti-semite. You are correct when you say that certain hassidim are experienced and prosperous business people. They know that if they want to take take care of their own families they have to do something other than merely sit in a yeshivah. This is not Israel where welfare is ruining the country.

63 % of haredim satisfied with their lives?. And why not -- They learn a t the early stage of childhood, that bending over a book, wearing a black sombrero does pay off. Handouts require no effort, no brain function, only god's will.

The Ultra-Orthodox lifestyle cannot be maintained. It will bankcrupt the Israeli social security budget. Mind you that the Ultra-Orthodox population is growing fast. Israel needs working ppl who can contribute to the national economy and support the growing aging population. It does not need Yeshiva-educated anti-zionists who only want to debate on religious ideology that makes no sense.

To #4 in Detroit. It is a shame that even Haredim have to work in the Diaspora. You can come here, become a citizen automatically with all the benefits. The Haredi community will help too. You won't have to work anymore. We will support you. You can have as many children as you want and not worry about feeding them. We will support them too. They won't have to serve in the army. My children will risk their lives to protect yours. Your children will learn important skills like throwing stones, lighting garbage, swinging poor chickens over peoples heads and will become adept at being parasitic without feeling shame. So come to Israel. IT IS A MITZVA. Some people might just hate you, but what do you care, you've got it made. All you are obliged to do is vote as you are told and demonstrate where you are told. Good luck.

Take a break Baruch. This article is not a hateful one against Haredim. It does just publish official israeli data which confirm that most of the Haredim male in Israel do not work but study and live with small Yeshiva allowances paid by the government. This is a fact. That added to the military exemption Haredim do have in Israel does explain why taxpayers serving in the army, aka 80% of the Israelis, do not like the Haredim and consider them as parasites to the israeli society. If you want to add to the discussion : - please explain us how Datim-Leumim in Israel who also study Torah can serve in the army and work - please explain us how Haredim in USA can both work and study Torah

I work in industry for 20 years and you are so convulsed with hate that you confuse me with these people who you hate. Why are you accusing me of doing these things to you? Why don't you give me your job and you can come here to Michigan and live in my 6 bedroom house with the big backyard, but, no job for you here! Good luck paying the property taxes (yes we have them here too in USA)

I'm afraid you are the one confused Mr. 22. The Haredim outside Israel work and look after themselves. I did not accuse you. But as a worker here, paying very high taxes, not in a 5 room house, being shelled, having my children serve 3 full years in combat units, I get somewhat angry at those who refuse to work, refuse army service but make unreasonable demands that they would not have the hutzpa to make in Detroit . Their political clout, their violence, their filth, their contempt for the law or for others, their internacine conflicts do not endear them to those of us who are forced to support their chosen way of life. Perhaps the hard-working Haredim in the U.S. should send them even more money and reduce my burden a little.

If there are contributing citizens among the Haredim, most are women.

israel isnt governed by torah law, and for good reason. seculars founded the country, and torah law is archaic, outmoded, and would never be compatible with modern society. how, plz tell me how, haredim learning torah all day makes me and other jews better jews. thats ridiculous. i lived for a year by mea shearim/geulah, and those haredim 1- DONT WORK 2- riot whenever they disagree with the government 3- are a busha to judaism in general. they burnt down a beautiful movie theatre and attacked shops that sold mp4 players. they are on the rama of islamic fundamentalists. for allll their torah learning, they still have absolutely no manners, and while im generalizing, alot of this rings true. ppl who study greek mythology and the arts dont study it by the thousands, and realize they still have to pay taxes and support families. haredim think they can dis israel and still get all the benefits from not working. having served in the army i can personaly tell u the feeling of not having near enough soldiers, and the kowledge that most haredim dont serve- as if they cant take off 3 years from torah to do their duty. and the other professions u mention are of real use in that they stimulate the economy; haredim just leech off of it. i agree torah study IS valuable. dont get me wrong. but that in and of itself shouldnt be parnasa for an entire community. there should be no army exemptions. u live here u fite for the country. and the general behavior of the haredi community is embarassing and appaling, reflecting poorly on us all. apparently torah learning does very little in the way of moral fiber. gog et a job, serve in the army, learn torah on the side or at nite. pay taxes, quit rioting. maybe u wont be called parasites...

You bring a professional workforce to Israel that come motivated and can contribute to the country. They come expected not to see salaries to that of the US and Europe. But all their tax dollars being spent on the Ultra-orthodox that spit on their faces and the Arabs? That is insanity. Look at all the hard-working israelis that were rejected for unemployment. "Rabbi" Schach? More like Parasite leader Schach

So... the Rambam worked, Moses worked, Chafetz Chayim worked, Rashi worked.. but obviously today's Haredim are even more clever than all these fellows and deserve to study all day. When exactly did paransa become a sin?

You must be one of those nintendo morons.. Read my "RANT" before your unleash a torrent of drivel.

When compared to hilonim, hareidim are only slight worse off ecomically, and are quite happy. 52% vs 42% unable to make ends meet (in spite of 90% employment versus 40% employment). A better explanation is that many, and indeed most, hareidim are employed without telling the government (what do you expect since they are largely conscientious objectors to military service, and thereby excluded from most "on the books" jobs). Israel's problem isn't mass unemployment, it is more along the lines of mass tax evasion.

ONLY 37% OF THEM SHOULD EAT!