Last update - 00:00 26/08/2007
It's up to the ultra-Orthodox
By Haaretz Editorial
Israel has come to terms with the fact that the ultra-Orthodox sector does not cooperate with the Compulsory Education Law and conducts its own segregated and closed education system that refuses to incorporate basic subjects such as the sciences, civics, Hebrew and English. The state has thus failed in its obligation to young ultra-Orthodox people, preventing them from realizing their basic right to an education.
Ultra-Orthodox rabbis are convinced that their formula for educating their children is the winning one. They do not want to waste precious time on secular studies when a child's soul is being molded. There will be time for such studies when the child is older, says Rabbi Yisrael Eichler. From the ultra- Orthodox point of view, childhood ends only after marriage. Only then can time be spared to learn a trade.
Successive Israeli governments have worried about being too coercive toward the way things are done in the ultra-Orthodox sector. Some say the concern was politically motivated; however, it can be assumed that another reason was respect for Torah scholars, the keepers of the seal, and fears about sparking a civil war. Conditioning exemption from military service on a life of devotion to yeshiva study has created large yeshivas that have become cities of refuge from service in the Israel Defense Forces. The size of the student body has become a problem for the ultra-Orthodox themselves, who become increasingly insular and poorer as their numbers rise. The rabbis preferred to preserve a closed and poor camp of Torah students and not give in one iota in educating their children as they wish.
What is the right way to involve the ultra- Orthodox in the working world without threatening their lifestyle? The first attempt, through the Tal Law, which was to allow young people to earn a living without getting drafted, was a failure. The rabbis preferred to keep the ultra-Orthodox camp closed no matter what the cost, although it became poorer and poorer. In tolerating the closing of the camp, is not the state freeing itself from its responsibility toward ultra-Orthodox young people? Is is right to cooperate with a way of life lacking in personal liberty and negating freedom of choice and equality between men and women? Is it possible to force modern education on those who do not want it?
Education Minister Yuli Tamir is now proposing a model based on one conceived by Amnon Rubinstein when he was education minister: continuing to partially fund small yeshivas, as is now the practice, while giving young people the option to complete regular studies in special classes for students up to the age of 30.
In this way the state recognizes its responsibility to give ultra-Orthodox students general studies, even if at a later stage. Adult education classes might bring in the married ultra-Orthodox, those who want to learn a trade. The option of a "second chance" would also be open to secular people who have not realized their right to basic education for other reasons.
This project's success is in large part up to the rabbis. The extent of their response will determine the extent of the success. Perhaps it will turn out to be another naive, unsuccessful secular plan, but this attempt, like the one to draft the ultra-Orthodox into civilian service instead of the army, is the little that can be done.
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