As New York Haredim multiply, Jewish Federation faces a quandary

I am a grant writer and and researcher hired to search for funding for a Jewish school. I am not Jewish (I'm African American/Christian) and I was so confused as to why some groups ignore some Jewish groups or divisions. After reading this article, I now understand the issue of why there are literally no foundations proposing to support issues and needs of certain Jewish groups, but I'm so sad that there is such a divide within the Jewish communities, especially in NY. Not addressing any of the issues will only come to ahead when children and families living in poverty have to depend on all of us to care for their needs, in the same way that America cares for its poor with entitlements, prison, and other "safety nets." I wish there was something that I could do to help build the bridge. Unfortunately there are things at play here much larger than myself. Best wishes and I really hope a solution is reached soon.

is prolly worth supporting. How many are there?

Quite a lot of them work, IIRC.

Jews Who Don't Mind Working to Support Non-producers, While Being Treated LIke Bat Guano By Their Beneficiaries. ;-)

Why should hardworking and taxpaying workers have to support these clowns, Kuni Lemels and their parasitic followers. Let them do some gainful work to sustain their families, nothing wrong with that!. Where does it say in the Torah that one should not engage in gainful work! don't hide under the motto of "Ha-avodah he chaieinu aval lo bishvileinu".

Why would anyone want to give to a culture which does not permit their followers to report sexual child abuse to the police, which supports the accused and vilifies, threatens, and shuns victims and parents when they do, which as a lifestyle choice does not educate their children so they can be empolyed to support their families and therefore must rely on welfare, and which marginalizes women in so many different ways?

Not all Haredi need study the Torah full time.

Demographically, time is on their side. At the same time, just like in Israel, their own present lifestyle is unsustainable, so they will have to open up to modernity and a secular education in order to survive. The macro bottom line is good for the Jews; religious Jews who balance Torah, which must be at the center, with work and secular education, which are necessary for living in the world.

If one chooses a life style which involves poverty and doing without, it seem to me one should respect that choice and allow him to have those ends,

>>> Now the federation’s leaders are being forced to confront an uncomfortable question: How much should the federation support a community which contributes little to it, particularly when it is a community whose needs are substantially a result of its own communal norms, from having large families to devaluing secular education and, in some quarters, professional training? <<< WELCOME TO ISRAEL !!!! I would also suggest that he who says "My tsedakah stays in my community, and your tsedakah should come to my community", is a thief. . charles

At the time of this writing, 2 individuals have given a thumbs down to all of the first 7 posts. Rather than give each post a thumbs down, why don't you post your own views as to why you disagree with these 7 posts?

I am a Jewish artist whose work was rejected by an ultra-orthodox website for the sole reason (as they explained it) that I was a convert in the Reform movement. They expect me to give to them, yet they aren't willing to do business with me and they reject me as a Jew. Just as, in Israel, they demand to be protected by the army but won't participate in it. I wish them well but they can start their own charitable organizations funded with dollars earned by people they agree with.

They can work as everybody else, they can give thier kids a good education as everybody else! They only want our money and will not give anything good in return!

Amazing to see the liberal attitudes on display in these posts. Change haredim to arabs / palestinians and you would have the editors wringing their hands and blocking the racist posts

No charity or support for the above. They have made their beds, now it is time for them to sleep in them instead of multiplying like rabbits.There is a real world out there!

To quote the article, "Brooklyn's ultra-Orthodox, whose numbers are swelling, are asking where the aid is from mainstream Jews, while the holders of Jewish coffers." There will no aide from mainstream Jews. Why would we want to contribute to a culture which is so foreign to western values in so many different ways.

If US Jews oppose supporting haredim, they can choose not to contribute money to the Jewish Federation. Here in israel, howeveer, the support is taken out of our taxes.

I want my donations to all Jewish organizations, whether in Israel or America, to go to groups which do not discriminate against women, people of color, people who are gay or disabled. Unfortunately, that list is much shorter than I would like.

No workee, no eatee.

Just as your article states, there is no bridge strong enough or wide enough to gap the chasm between the Haredi world, and the rest of Jewry who choose to live, work, and function in the modern world. Don't waste time trying to build bridges. Disconnect completely from the Haredim, who will gladly take your money, while at the same time rejecting you as a "goy".

The problem outlined in the article about Haredi poverty in New York is exactly the same as in Israel. Namely, the members of the Haredi community choose to have large families, choose that their men should devote their entire lives to Torah study, choose that their wives be treated as appendages to their husbands, choose to not be educated in secular subjects, and choose not to be gainfully employed. If the non-Haredi community financially supports them in any way, it will only encourage them to continue to live by these choices. They may claim that they have no choice because of Halacha, but when they want Halacha to yield a different response, it magically does so.