Behind the headlines and the panic about the “haredi [ultra-Orthodox] threat” lies a very different story, one about values, community, and quiet transformation. Those who look at the haredim only through fear are missing one of the most important stories shaping Israel’s future.
A recent Makor Rishon article declared that “the [social] pact with the haredim has become a national existential threat.” It no doubt struck a chord with many Israelis worried about the country’s direction, reflecting a growing mood of frustration, fatigue, even despair.
The haredim are often portrayed as one faceless mass: unchanging, demanding, detached. Yet anyone who actually peers inside sees something else, a community of strong internal values: Torah study, rich community life, mutual aid, and a spiritual mission anchored in responsibility for the continuity of the Jewish people and its tradition.
The role of haredim in Israel
The haredim are not a burden on Israel’s back. They are woven into its social DNA. It did not emerge here by accident, nor did it arrive as a settler looking to exploit public resources. It was built out of a sense of purpose and moral commitment, to preserve values that the modern world often loses sight of. This ethos inevitably encounters Israel’s broader society at sensitive crossroads, again and again. It is a community that prefers stability over change, continuity over novelty, and spirit over materialism.
The real challenge, then, is not the existence of such a community but the erosion of trust and communication between sectors. When secular Israelis feel that haredim only take and never give, they grow resentful. When haredim feel they’re being forced to change who they are, they retreat inward. Both sides have a point, but together, they create a destructive loop – every debate about education, the economy, or civic duty becomes another front in a war of religion and identity.
Treating the haredim as the problem may be politically convenient, but it’s sociologically blind. Instead of asking what’s unraveling in Israeli society as a whole, we point at one group and call it the culprit. In doing so, we miss something remarkable, a quiet revolution already underway. More haredi men are joining the workforce. More haredi women are earning degrees and entering diverse professions.
That means more taxes paid, more economic participation, more engagement. Yes, haredi families still pay less in taxes and compulsory fees, but their contributions have been growing faster than those of any other group in Israeli society.
Haredim in the labor market
Haredi society is among the youngest in the developed world, an enormous future workforce brimming with energy, creativity, and a willingness to learn. The potential for growth is immense if we can together find frameworks that meet the needs of all sides.
The young ultra-Orthodox entering the labor market bring with them discipline, reliability, commitment, and an exceptional capacity for learning – qualities every employer seeks. Properly integrated, they could become one of Israel’s greatest engines of economic growth.
Of course, criticism about education gaps, military service, and economic inequality is fair. The challenges are real. Still, labeling an entire community as a threat ensures that no solution will ever take root. Declaring that the social pact with the haredim is an existential danger is not only morally wrong, it’s strategically self-destructive. It deepens the rift that’s already tearing at Israel’s social fabric.
A healthy society doesn’t erase difference; it learns to live with it. The haredim don’t need to give up their identity to be equal citizens. The rest of Israel doesn’t need to give up on expecting shared responsibility. Real partnership isn’t blind sameness, it’s the ability to see the other as whole, even when they’re not like you.
If Israelis can start seeing one another not through fear or contempt but through understanding and shared purpose – mapping the gaps honestly, building bridges deliberately, and choosing trust over suspicion – then the future shifts.
Israel won’t be saved from the haredim. It will be saved with them.
The writer is head of employment at the Institute for Haredi Strategy and Policy.