The problem facing young haredim

Jerusalem Post article

If you read between the overzealous hype of the reporters, this interview with Dudi Zilbershlag, head of Meir Panim, states the problem very well. Here are some highlights [text in square brackets is my addition or comment].

"You've got [this sad situation of many young] Yeshiva and Kollel students passing through Torah institutions without really identifying or wanting to belong to them. [This doesn't mean they don't want to be religious, but that they don't want to devote themselves exclusively to Torah study. Currently the only alternative open to them is to leave the ranks of the haredim. Unwilling to do that] they live a life of idleness [and self deception]."

"We need to rebuild the model of great Torah scholars like Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch... that knew how to live in the material world while strictly adhering to Halacha."

"Working people who set aside time for learning Torah, [must feel they] also have a place in haredi society."

"There is a need [for] army courses suitable for haredim." [This is not merely an issue of kosher food, time to pray, Shabat observance, or even exposure to immodest behaviour - though all these are important. Above all it is a question of providing a framework that is ideologically compatible with the haredi worldview.]

"A secular kid knows at a very early age that he has a variety of options open to him. He can go to the Technion, [...] there are various training courses, there are the universities. But the haredi youth has nothing like [that]. People ask me about all sorts of strange courses... run unprofessionally. You don't know if the certificate is worth anything. People need more information."

Apparently Zilbershlag "is a political advisor to several secular MKs, including, including Yosef Paritzky." [Hmmm... ]

We are told that "In conjunction with the Joint he will establish a chain of employment centers for the haredi community. In [the] coming weeks a director general will be chosen to head the project." Let's hope it won't just be one more cushy Israeli government job simply lining the pocket of another elite beaurocrat while essentially doing little or nothing of substance for the people it's supposed to help.

[BTW, if you click the link don't waste oo much time trying to understand the last two paragraphs of the article. They are a perfect example of the sloppy editing I wrote about a few posts ago, and are total gobbledegook.]