In February, Israeli media reported on a “Social Revolution”: more than 50% of Haredi men were participating in the labor force, up from 33% in 2005. This was the first time since the Central Bureau of Statistics started measurements that the number passed 50%. It was not only Haredi men who joined the workforce, the percentage of working Haredi women is even higher.
A clear trend emerges from the statistics: there is a bond between the Haredi community and the high-tech sector. According to the Ministry of Economy, the number of employed Haredim (women and men) in the high-tech industry doubled between 2009 and 2011. In April this year, an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Haredi people were working in high-tech, 75% of them were women. Furthermore, each year some 600 Haredi women graduate from technical engineering programs.
The tour had explored this unique bond and its implications on the Haredi community and on Israeli society as a whole.
Our tour included:
Visit to the Jerusalem College of Technology – Lev Academic Center, an Orthodox college that offers bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees in several fields of study combined with intensive Jewish studies. Meetings with staff and students.
Meeting with two Orthodox alumni who opened a start up, which already recruited more than a million dollars, and employs other Haredi people.
Visit to Kama Tech, a unique Haredi high-tech integration program. Kama Tech was founded in order to build a self perpetuating network of working Haredi Jews, facilitating successful integration in the Israeli workforce. Was chosen as one of five best startup accelerators in Israel, after Microsoft and others.
Visit to Pojo, a Haredi high-tech company, which develops user-friendly WordPress themes.
