Menachem writes that training is unrelated to job performance, yet in his example, Akiva Moshe made his brilliant on-the-job contributions only because he was trained as a computer engineer. Then Menachem claims that Chareidim are unwanted in the work force- but Akiva Moshe was recognized by his firm as an outstanding employee. We all know that Chareidim are widely employed throughout Israel. Some time ago an anonymous yeshiva "student" (avreich) publicly declared that being gainfully employed risks a negative social stigma in his circles. All Israelis should be trained for something useful or find other useful employment. If they choose Torah studies, they should become teachers.

Tens of thousands of intelligent people attain the same achievements without Torah studies. Tens of thousands of Torah students achieve little or nothing.

Yes, there are a minority of highly motivated haredim who work hard and succeed. But haredim continue to be a drag on the economy because of large family size and low economic participation. OECD reports, for example, note the most troublesome sectors are haredi males and Arab females. Most in those two sectors don't work. I commend all such efforts to provide training to enable them to enter and succeed in the workplace. The Technion, for example, has a program (one to which I financially contribute) to prepare prospective students who have an insufficient academic background for the rigorous studies they will be facing. A small number of haredim participate in that program. Jerusalem's Technology College also does excellent work. But let's not accept the suggestion that this is yet a widespread phenomenon in the haredi community.

As long as most Haredim don't work, and many work illegally in order to also get State compensation, stories like this are meaningless. Good for Moshe, and a few dozen similar people. What about the other 400,000 Haredim who are of work force age but aren't employed?

... I agree with Wade. Torah students should become teachers. Survival... ... is always a big deal, especially when someone has a family. But, sometimes survival is not easy, to make money is not easy... And it makes some people became miser with their money... ... To have a family means that someone will always use your money to keep the family... To have a family means: help one another... :)

These cases are not unique.. i know of the best doctors at sharey tzedek, the top engineer in the country for earthquake prevents is haredi, the top forensic scientists at the police department and many mid level officers in the miltiary sciences are hardedi.. the nice thing about working with these people is that they are nice

and more and more secular are getting interested in the Tora.Soon we will be with G-Ds help a united Am Israel .

How about stopping state subsidizing of "torah scholars"? How about serving in the army? How about the Haredim stop telling the rest of us how to live our lives? How about the rampant corruption in the Yeshivot and religious political parties?

Unfortunately, these individuals are a minority and very small minority. When the Haredim will understand that Torah Im derech Eretz is the way forward and this will become the standard , they will force the government and the environment to change for the better. Meanwhile, the minorities will need to bear the brunt of mass indirection. However , these minorities , if they do a good job and act differently than the secular public , morally and honestly , these people will certainly be recognized for their talents and achievments and will make a "kidush hashem" .

Carlos said..."How about the Haredim stop telling the rest of us how to live our lives?" And then he said..."How about serving in the army?"...Ummmmm?

The Israeli workplace is in a process of change in relation to the relationship between genders. Sexual harassment and improper acts are illegal.Soon large firms will set up official committees to deal with these problems in addition to filing charges with police. Israeli society will become more tolerant of different life styles, dress, and more sensitive to co-workers with different codes of morality. Management in all Western countries have realized that female workers were an asset to the company, although their presence mandated a change of behavior on the part of the male worker, In Israel also,management will soon appreciate the value of employing qualified Haredi men and women.

The statistics show that Chareidim have a low labor force participation rate, somewhere in the range of half. The author commits a bias. He attempts to supplant population wide estimates with anecdotal evidence. Anecdotal evidence takes the form of, "I have a friend who..." Menachem Gsheid, your evidence is anecdotal at best and fabricated at worst.

Respect is not earned by shouting from the roof tops. When you deserve respect it will come without making noise of it's footsteps. Majority do not work, do not have any tools to work, can not work with women force, does not serve in army and a big big big burden on economy. It a good start that haredim have started working but not enough. We need each and every non-employed haredi to work and support him family on his own because my tax money is for hospital beds, for doctors salary, for more medicines in yearly basket of medicines, for traffic lights and other improvements, for the salary of school teachers and for educational improvements etc. Instead of this my tax money is forcefully given for non working haredim. This needs to change and when that change will happen, you won't need such articles to collect the respect, but it will come to you automatically without any efforts.

the only people who believe that studying full-time are Hareidi, so why should we pay for even the best Torah scholars? If it is worth it to the Hareidi population to have a few elites sit and study full-time, then they should take up private donations and fund it. The rest of us believe that it is CONTRARY to Torah values not to have an income-producing job. The full-time way of life is a modern invention (possibly the only modern minhag permissible to the Hareidim) and has gotten out of hand in Israel.