Arab men and Haredi women's employment

Yamit Naftali

One of the main factors identified with poverty is the low labor force participation rate or LFPR. One of the Israel's goals as a country is to encourage economic growth and to break the cycle of poverty, and therefore it is making great efforts to increase the LFPR among haredi men and Arab women. Currently, the LFPR for haredi men stands at only 54% and for Arab women 35%.

We should only be healthy!

Dafna Shemer

The recently-released Central Bureau of Statistics Social Survey for 2017 includes questions about issues related to health. It is interesting to compare the results for the different populations in Israel and in Jerusalem. The topic of health is especially intriguing with respect to the Haredi population, since it is difficult to evaluate the scope of its members' utilization of health services, specifically preventive services.

Yeshiva High Schools

Tehila Bigman

In recent years, the demand to study at yeshiva high schools has increased among the haredi public in Israel. At yeshiva high schools, alongside religious studies students learn general subjects and follow the curriculum for the matriculation examination. This new interest reveals deep processes at work in haredi society that indicate a desire for integration into the employment market, which is often the result of the aspiration to earn a decent living, and sometimes a wish to be a more significant part of general Israeli culture.

Studies for boys in the haredi sector begin at age three. That is the age when a boy enters the Talmud Torah or heder and starts to learn how to read. Studies at the Talmud Torah continue until age 14 (the end of eighth grade), and include many hours of religious study –Torah study, Halacha (religious laws), Mishna, Gemara, Musar and World View – as well as general subjects which include math, geography, nature studies, history and more. English and other foreign languages are rarely included, and there is minimal, if any, "enrichment," in subjects such as technology, computers, art, or physical education. In the higher grades there are more religious studies at the expense of the other subjects. After completing the studies at the Talmud Torah, the haredi youth continues to a "small" or "junior" yeshiva for the next three years (parallel to grades nine through 11). Only religious subjects are taught at the small yeshiva.

This means that a graduate of the haredi school system receives a rich education in religious studies, but his level of education in all other areas is roughly equivalent to a student in grade five or six in the state systems. Therefore, entry into the work force, as well as into higher education in the country, is effectively blocked to these haredi graduates.

Research undertaken at the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research indicates a trend that shows that more and more members of the haredi community are interested in changing the situation and providing their sons with the tools and the possibility of receiving a broader education starting in high school, to enable them to earn a decent living, or because they believe that the true "Way of the Torah" includes preparedness for a practical life.

In a survey of 450 men and women who are representative of haredi society, 17% of respondents said that they would have no problem sending their sons to a haredi yeshiva high school. Alongside 41% who responded that under no circumstances would they be willing to send their sons to an institution that combines secular studies and preparation for the matriculation exam (which is representative of the prevailing approach in haredi society today), a similar number of respondents said that they wouldn't rule out this possibility. The survey data shows that in the coming years a potential 5,000 additional students may attend haredi yeshiva high schools.

Among respondents in Jerusalem only 12% said that they have no problem with their children studying at a high school yeshiva, and it is interesting to note that in Bnei Brak, a center of haredi Judaism, the percentage was almost double, with 23% of parents responding that they have no problem with their sons studying at a yeshiva high school.

The results foresee a growing phenomenon, which may have far-reaching influence on the employment market and the integration of the haredi population into the larger community in Israel, and we would be advised to pay attention.

Translated by Gilah Kahn

Faith in the Future

Yoad Shahar

Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies

www.jiis.org

Jerusalem is considered one of Israel’s poorest cities. In 2011 the average gross monthly salary for employed individuals in Jerusalem was 8,014 NIS, compared with 10,409 NIS in Haifa, 11,445 NIS in Tel Aviv – Jaffa, and 9,461 NIS in Israel as a whole. Moreover, in the same year 44% of salaried employees in Jerusalem earned less than the minimum wage, compared with 38% of salaried employees in Haifa, 33% of salaried employees in Tel Aviv, and 38% in Israel.

In addition to these objective statistics, in the past summer the media published data from the annual social survey of the Central Bureau of Statistics. This survey provides another dimension that aids in understanding the standard of living and welfare in Israel – namely, the subjective dimension. The data painted a dismal picture of the manner in with Israel’s residents perceive their individual economic situation, and an even more dismal picture when respondents were asked about their expectations of the future in this regard. 

A total of 19% of survey respondents said they expect their individual economic situation to deteriorate in the future, 38% believed it would not improve, and 43% believed that their individual economic situation would improve in the future. One might expect that because Jerusalem is a poorer city in terms of objective indices, its residents would expect a bleaker future, as there would be fewer possibilities for financial savings and future planning. However, only 17% of Jerusalem’s residents believed that their individual economic situation would deteriorate in the future and 34% believed it would not change, whereas 49% believed their situation would improve – higher than the figure for Israel and the other major cities. In Tel Aviv and in Haifa only 40% and 42%, respectively, believed their situation would improve.

One of the factors that might explain this optimistic view of the future is the power of faith. The social survey also questioned respondents about the degree of their religiosity (ultra-orthodox, religious, traditional-religious, traditional and not very religious, and secular / not religious). A breakdown by outlook on one’s economic situation (among Jews) reveals that a greater degree of religiosity corresponds with a higher degree of optimism regarding one’s future economic situation. (A comparable trend was observed among non-Jews as well.)

Even though the economic situation of the ultra-orthodox in Jerusalem ranks among the lowest in the city in terms of objective indices, 59% of the ultra-orthodox stated that they expect their economic situation to improve in the future, compared with 46% of religious respondent, 43% of secular respondents, 35% of traditional and not very religious respondents, and only 31% of traditional-religious respondents. The effect of subjective expectations on the objective situation has not yet been demonstrated. If such an effect does exist, then believers have a brighter economic future.

Data source: The social survey, by the Central Bureau of Statistics

Translation: Merav Datan

High School Matriculation: The Key Is to Understand the Whole

Yoad Shahar 

Each year the Ministry of Education publishes statistics about the rates of eligibility, by locale, for high school matriculation certificates among 12th grade students. According to this data the rate of eligibility in Jerusalem declined from 51% in 2007-2008 to 46% in 2009-2010 to 43% in 2011-2012. Yet some observers claim that these figures do not accurately represent current trends, which are influenced by policies regarding matriculation.

The Municipality of Jerusalem publishes annual statistics based on those of the Ministry of Education, after arranging them by population sectors. These data reveal that the percentage of students eligible for matriculation certificates from among 12th grade high school students enrolled in the state and state-religious education systems has in fact been rising in recent years: from 63% in 2009-2010 to 68% in 2010-2011 to 72% in 2011-2012.

Simultaneously there is a trend underway in which schools are transitioning from the independent (ultra-orthodox) and Arab education systems to the educational curriculum that prepares students for the Israeli matriculation certificate. In other words, more students are taking the matriculation exams within these sectors, and therefore presumably more students are eligible for the certificate. Here lies the key to understanding the gap between the data published by the Ministry of Education and the data published by the Municipality of Jerusalem.

As noted, eligibility for the matriculation certificate is calculated on the basis of the total number of students enrolled in 12th grade. However, the 12th graders who are counted are only those enrolled in schools that offer students the option of taking the matriculation exams. Thus two different problems arise regarding calculation of the whole. First, if we were to calculate the number of students eligible for a matriculation certificate in 2011-2012 out of the total number of 12th grade students (including those enrolled in schools whose students do not have the option of taking matriculation exams), the whole figure out of which the proportion of eligible students is calculated would be greater, and therefore the eligibility rate would be less than 43%. Second, under the current system of calculating the whole, as more ultra-orthodox and Arab schools transition to the Israeli matriculation curriculum, all of their students are counted in the calculation of the total number of students – the whole – even though during the early years only a few of their students actually take the matriculation exams. In other words, as more schools transition to the matriculation curriculum, they bring down the overall eligibility rate within the city. 

So what is the correct way to calculate eligibility for a matriculation certificate? The question depends on the objective of the calculation. One objective could be the assessment of eligibility as an indicator of students’ future earning power. Towards this objective it would be appropriate to include all the city’s 12th grade students in calculating the whole, and consequently the eligibility percentage for 2011-2012 is less than 43%.

Another objective could be to develop an indicator of the quality of the city’s educational institutions. A high eligibility rate indicates a successful educational system, which often serves as a criterion for parents who are considering moving to the city. Towards this objective it is appropriate to calculate the eligibility percentage on the basis of the number of students enrolled in schools that have adopted the matriculation certificate as a measure of the quality of their education. However, this approach does not address the catch created by the transition of ultra-orthodox and Arab schools to the matriculation curriculum: at least in the short term, these schools bring down the city’s eligibility rates. Accordingly, the Municipality of Jerusalem is right to calculate the matriculation certificate eligibility rates by education sectors, thus producing a more complex representation of existing trends in the city with regard to this issue.

Data Source: The 2014 Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem

Computer Use in Jerusalem

Yair Assaf-Shapira

In accordance with world trends, computer use in Israel rises every year. In 2011, for example, 72% of the population aged 20 and over in Israel reported using a computer, compared to 58% who reported using one only five years before, in 2006. A similar positive trend was recorded in Jerusalem, although the city lags behind Israel with a substantial gap. Computer use in Jerusalem rose from 51% in 2006, to only 59% in 2011.

Within the Jewish population in Israel, one of the factors that is connected to computer use, is the nature of the religious identity. Computer use rate among the Jewish population in Israel stood at 77% in 2011, but it was lower among ultra-orthodox (58%) and among the religious or traditional-religious (70%), and higher among the secular or non-religious traditional (82%).

In Jerusalem, the three different groups do not show the same trend compared to the country. Use rate among the Jewish population in Jerusalem was lower than in Israel, and stood at 72% in 2011. The datum for the ultra-orthodox use of computer for the same year (63%), though exceptionally high compared to previous years (50% and 46% in 2010 and 2009 respectively), was still the lowest of the three groups, but it was higher than the figure for the ultra-orthodox in Israel (as stated, 58%). The same trend applies also to the religious or traditional-religious in Jerusalem, a higher percentage of whom (74%) reported using the computer compared to Israel. Among the secular or non-religious traditional in Jerusalem the use rate (78%) was the highest of the three groups, but lower than the figure for Israel.

Over recent years, it looks like all religious groups' computer use is growing, but while two of them show similar figures in Jerusalem and in Israel, the third keeps a steady advantage of Jerusalemites over the rest of the country. These are the religious or traditional-religious in Jerusalem, having a computer use rate higher than that of their likes in Israel by 8%-12% over the last five years (see diagram in which bi-annual averages are used to decrease inaccuracies).

Data Source: the social survey by the central bureau of statistics for appropriate years.