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NEW VISTAS ON THE ISRAELI SCENE Chanan (Antony) Gordon The Most Unique Demographic Kiruv Opportunity in Decades Taking Advantage of A chiloni (non-religious) population. This especially after hearing the words of some Demographic Aberration opportunity to expose hundreds of of our Gedolim first hand6 – that we are thousands of secular Israelis to the beau- obligated to capitalize on this situation. ome fascinating demographic ty of our Torah and rich heritage is par- trends in Eretz Yisroel have recent- tially due to a “demographic time ly been published, which give our bomb” resulting from a single almost Israeli Society: a S Strong Traditional Bent brothers and sisters in the chareidi com- unbelievable statistical fact: more than munity there both a unique opportuni- 50% of the chareidi population – a pop- ty and a responsibility pertaining to kiruv ulation with a birth rate that averages 7.6 In many ways, The Guttman Survey, rechokim. children per woman – is below the age to date the most comprehensive research Today, the chareidi community of 8 years old.3 ever conducted on the religious behav- counts for approximately 12%1 of Thankfully, as ambiguous and con- ior of Israeli Jews, dispelled the myth that Israel’s Jewish population. While, as one fusing as the Council of Jewish the liberal media has been at pains to cre- would expect, my research of recent Federation’s NJPS 2000 was in America,4 ate, i.e., that the majority of Israelis would socio-economic developments within the the Louis Guttmann Israel Institute of want nothing more than to ensure that chareidi ranks did yield some areas of Applied Research’s Survey5 (“The Israel evolved into just another secular concern,2 on the positive side, it also Guttman Survey”) of the same year was country. According to The Guttman became patently clear that the chareidi clear and succinct. Read together with Survey: community in Eretz Yisroel, over the next the exploding chareidi “baby boom” The rhetoric of the secular and several years, has a most unique oppor- alluded to above, it seems clear to me – religious polarization generally used tunity to have a significant impact on the 1 Unless explicitly noted to the contrary, the basic course of my research, brought to my attention some of the demographic trends and statistics cited in CHANAN (ANTONY) GORDON is a Fulbright source of the data cited in this article is the Israeli Scholar and graduate of Harvard Law Central Bureau of Statistics, Machon Yerushalayim. this article. School. Mr. Gordon has co-authored and 2 47% of the chareidi population lives below the 4 The Guttman Survey was commissioned by the authored numerous articles that have pre- poverty line (i.e., approximately 600,000 people Avi Chai Foundation, involving a national sam- viously appeared in JO, most recently “The out of the 1.16 million Israeli citizens that cur- ple of 2,466 respondents from all over Israel with Future of American Jewry Revisited” (in Oct. rently live below the poverty line falls within the a maximum sampling error of 3%. The ’03). Mr. Gordon is the Chairman of the Los chareidi population). Highlights were published in June, 2002. Angeles Kiruv Chabura as well as 3 I am indebted to Professor Joseph Bodenheimer, 5 See author’s article on the topic, JO Oct. ’03. Chairman of Young Friends of Lakewood. President of The Jerusalem College of Technology, 6 Including meetings with the likes of Rabbi Michel He is a Managing Director of MFS Capital, which runs a specific chareidi Program. Professor Yehuda Lefkowitz, t’’yhka, Rosh Yeshiva of the a boutique investment bank in Beverly Hills. Bodenheimer, whom I spoke to in person in the Ponevezeh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, last year 6 The Jewish Observer to characterize Israeli society is falls on our chareidi communities in Eretz Orthodox Jews to “maaser” their time for highly misleading. It would be more Yisroel and there has never been a bet- outreach efforts was directed at bnei accurate to say that Israeli society has ter time than now Torah, not kiruv organizations. (See JO, a strong traditional bent, and, as far The hundreds of thousands of charei- June ’73.) Similarly, the well-known “Kol as religious practice is concerned, that di Jews who in the years to come will Korei” (“The voices of our brothers are there is a continuum from the become a more statistically significant part calling to you”), addressing the Torah “strictly observant”to the “non-obser- of Israeli society have to be taught now, communities in Eretz Yisroel at the time vant,” rather than a great divide during their formative years, that “non- to help facilitate non-observant Jews to between the religious minority and observant” Jews living in Eretz Yisroel return to Torah observance, was signed secular majority. should be embraced, taught and uncon- by such leaders as Rabbi Elazar Schach, Some of the findings of The Guttman ditionally loved. All indications are – the Steipler Gaon, and Rabbi Chaim Survey are worthy of note:7 whether we rely on the findings of The Shmuelevitz l”xz. 98% of Israeli Jews who define them- selves as “totally non-observant” have a mezuzah on their front doors; No chareidi Jew in Eretz Yisroel 79% of the men among them own a should ignore the cry coming from the pair of tefillin; 77% of them say that marking non-observant community, 50% of whom Shabbos in some way is an important said they would prefer their children principle in their lives; to be “somewhat observant.” 86% of Israeli Jews believe in G-d, with 55% believing that the Torah was given to Moshe on Mount Sinai. The responsibility to ensure that no Guttman Survey or the huge amount of Even those whose dedication to the more Israeli Jews become self-defined anecdotal evidence being compiled by the calling of Torasam umenasam (a 24-hour- “non-observant” Jews lies with us. likes of Lev L’Achim, Aish Hatorah and a-day Torah scholar) limits their availabil- many others spearheading the charge – ity for kiruv will find ways of reaching out that this time, the overtures to “come back in the suggestions that follow.