The past few years have seen a dramatic change in ultra-Orthodox society. At one point, it was a society that shut itself off behind the ghetto’s walls, keeping a safe distance from everything the Western world had to offer and reacting with suspicion at the slightest hint of innovation and openness. In that vein, it was especially wary of the academic world, which it considered untouchable. Today, however, increasing numbers of ultra-Orthodox Jews are obtaining academic degrees and joining the workforce. That is one reason why the ultra-Orthodox Yahadut HaTorah party included, for the first time, a demand in its coalition agreement with the Likud that the government take steps to prevent discrimination against the ultra-Orthodox in the public sector.
Until 2000, there were almost no ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel with an academic degree, and there were no academic institutions in the country geared toward their community. Fifteen years later, however, there are dozens of ultra-Orthodox colleges. In other words, thousands of ultra-Orthodox students now attend institutions of higher learning specifically intended for them.
According to Gilad Malach, head of the Ultra-Orthodox Program at the Israel Institute for Democracy, some 20% of men and women in the ultra-Orthodox community between the ages of 25 and 39 are studying toward an academic degree or had an academic degree as of 2014. “We’re talking about a significant increase,” he said in a conversation with Al-Monitor. “The number grew from 1,050 students in 2003 to 8,300 students in 2014. That’s an eightfold increase.”
The ultra-Orthodox sector’s entry into academia, especially given the speed and intensity with which it is occurring, is undoubtedly a formative social event for Israeli society in general and ultra-Orthodox society in particular. These two societies, so alienated from each other in day-to-day life, frequently rub shoulders in the halls of academia. This has a positive impact on the way the two societies view each other and also tests their ability to bridge the social and cultural differences between them.
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