Reading Between the Lines

At first, this article about unemployed Chareidim in Israel seems to be the same standard fare. The usual impressions are all these: Chareidim, especially the male ones, don't work because their learning takes precedence. The implication is clear either. Here's a big chunk of Israeli society that deliberately chooses to live on welfare, draining the system of valuable resources.

Bu reading further into the article, one finds some interesting comments.

The poll, conducted regularly since 2002, indicated both male and female ultra-Orthodox employees were putting in more hours than previous years.

The study also found that ultra-Orthodox employees were more likely to say they were satisfied with jobs compared to their secular and religious counterparts.

A higher percent of ultra-Orthodox employees also said their line of work was directly related to their field of education compared to other sectors.

Almost half of ultra-Orthodox employees said they were content with their income level and 80% said they
felt fulfilled by their work. Men were more likely to be content with their income compared to women, in both ultra-Orthodox and secular sectors.

What this implies is tremendous. If one can get a Chareidi to work, one will discover that he is a ideal employee, willing to put in long hours with less complaints.

What does this suggest? Could one imagine what the contribution of this community could be if the majority of Chareidim who are currently "learning" full-time were to complete an educational goal and enter the workforce? The potential for enriching that community and relieving much of the poverty within it would be tremendous and the example of Chareidim shoulder the burdens of Israeli society next to the non-religious brethren could bring a great amount of kiddush Hashem about.

Maybe one day...