Are Haredim paranoid, thinking everything non-haredi the State does is to oppose Haredim and their growth, or are non-haredim naive for thinking the State is not trying to suppress Haredi growth and expansion?
The State has announced they will be opening the countries fifth medical school, this one in Tsfat and administered by Bar Ilan University. This will also be a precursor to expanding to a full blown university in the heart of the Galil. The intention is to improve educational opportunities in the Galil region, which will improve the quality of life in the area.
The Haredim are upset, claiming this is being done to suppress the Haredi expansion and growth in the Safed area.
I say, Haredim all over Israel are finally getting involved in higher education. Instead of being upset about it, apply to go to school and become doctors. And when it eventually becomes a full fledged university, become businessmen, accountants, lawyers, psychologists, scientists and whatever else they will offer. Take advantage of a tremendous opportunity laying at your door - they are handing you a university, and will need students to fill it.
I'm not really sure where the concern lies, at least in terms of growth. Besides the fact that underlying the claim is the assumption that Hareidim can't live among other types of Jews (which they do all over the world), and ignoring the fact that the presence of medical schools and universities in Jerusalem haven't hampered Hareidi growth there, I find it hard to believe the Hareidi families will delay having children, or have fewer children, due to the presence of a medical school and/or university in the vicinity.
ReplyDeleteI think the main concern is that it will bring a lot of secular people to the area, as they want to be close to school, live on campus, etc. and offset the balance. They have grown to hold a certain percentage of the area, thus giving them a certain amount of power (political). If all of the sudden there is an influx of secular residents, their level of power goes down
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