The ultra-orthodox Jews (or Haredim) now account for 13.5 percent of the Israeli population, but in about 40 years, this is projected to increase to 31.3 percent if the exceptionally high fertility rates of Haredi females are maintained. Haredi Jews hardly mix with other Jews and have views and values that are incompatible with the secular and Zionist character of Israel. More importantly, Haredi men have rather low employment rates and the highest poverty rates. Most children of the Haredi community go to specially designated schools that shun the core curriculum of English, Maths and Science. Because of their growing size, Haredi parties exercise considerable political power which is likely to grow over time. This enables them to sustain the required budgetary support from the government that allows Haredi lifestyles to be sustained. Under a business-as-usual scenario, Israel could become a poorer, less productive economy, given that a large part of Israeli society will consist of Haredi men and women that will impose a major fiscal burden on the state. The political leadership might not be able to break out of the status quo if it remains addicted to ‘forever wars’ as a way of subverting the aspirations of Palestinian statehood and thus neglect the challenges posed by Israel’s demographic transformation.
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Reflections on development and governance 