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Ultra-Orthodoxy in Urban Governance in Israel

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Ultra-Orthodoxy in Urban Governance in Israel THE FLOERSHEIMER INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES Ultra-Orthodoxy in Urban Governance in Israel Yosseph Shilhav Jerusalem, November 1998 Translator: Lisa Perlman Principal Editor: Shunamith Carin Preparation for Print: Ami-El Applications Printed by: Ahva Cooperative Press Maps: Vered Shatil The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author. © 1998, The Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies Ltd. 9A Diskin St., Jerusalem 96440 Israel Tel. 972-2-5666243; Fax. 972-2-5666252 e-mail: [email protected] ISSN 0792-6251 About the Author Professor Yosseph Shilhav is a faculty member of the Geography Department at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, and head of Geography Studies at David Yellin Teachers College in Jerusalem. He also teaches at the Hebrew Univer- sity’s Institute for Urban and Regional Studies in Jerusalem. His work at the Floersheimer Institute is within the framework of the Institute’s project on Religion, Society, and State. About the Research The Religion, Society, and State project at the Floersheimer Institute devotes special attention to the Haredi (ultra-orthodox) community. This community tends to congregate in areas where Haredi culture is dominant. The political empowerment of the Haredi community is having an impact on a range of in- stitutions, including local authorities. Haredi municipal rule poses two principal problems, which serve as the focus of this research. The first: How does the Haredi community deal with the onus involved in managing a municipal system? The second: How does a Haredi administration relate to non-Haredi groups within its jurisdiction and sphere of responsibility? Since the phenomenon of Haredi municipalities is increas- ing in Israel, great importance is attached to these questions in an attempt to understand the future relationship of religion, society, and state in Israel. About the Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies In recent years the importance of policy-oriented research has been increas- ingly acknowledged. Dr. Stephen H. Floersheimer initiated the establish- ment of a research institute that would concentrate on studies of long-range policy issues. The purpose of the Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies is to research fundamental processes likely to be major issues for policy-makers in years to come, analyze the long-range trends and implications of such problems, and propose to the policy-makers alternative options and strategies. The members of the Board of Directors are Dr. Stephen H. Floersheimer (chairman); I. Amihud Ben-Porath, advocate (vice-chairman); David Bro- det, chairman of the Board of Directors of the United Mizrahi Bank; and Hirsh Goodman, founding editor of the Jerusalem Report and vice-president of the Jerusalem Post. The director of the Floersheimer Institute is Prof. Amiram Gonen of the Department of Geography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies Publications on Religion, Society, and State in Israel 1. The Cultural Struggle over Jerusalem: Accommodations, Scenarios and Lessons Shlomo Hasson, 1996 (Hebrew and English). 2. The Politics of Accommodation: Settling Conflicts of State and Religion in Israel Eliezer Don-Yehiya, 1997 (Hebrew). 3. The Cultural Tension Within Jerusalem’s Jewish Population Shlomo Hasson and Amiram Gonen, 1997 (Hebrew and English). 4. Religion and Democracy in Israel Benyamin Neuberger, 1997 (Hebrew and English). 5. Governing and Managing a Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) City Yosseph Shilhav, 1997 (Hebrew). 6. Ultra-Orthodoxy in Urban Governance in Israel Yosseph Shilhav, 1998 (English). Table of Contents Introduction 1 1 Development of Haredi Municipal Rule 11 From a Minority to a Ruling Majority — The Example of Bene Beraq 11 A Haredi Town is Born — The Establishment of Betar Illit 14 Haredi Communities in the U.S. 28 2 Manpower in a Haredi Municipal Administration 32 Personnel Problems in an Established Haredi City 32 Personnel Problems in a New Haredi Town 37 3 The Education System as an Example of Municipal Management 40 Haredi Education as a Municipal Service 40 The Influence of Social Characteristics on the Bene Beraq Education System 43 Managing a Diverse Education System in a New Haredi Town 44 4 Planning, Building, and Managing a Haredi City 50 The Problem of Town Planning from the Perspective of a Haredi Administration 50 Pressure and Planning in Bene Beraq 51 Flaws in Administrative Functioning and City Development in Bene Beraq 55 Land Use in a New Haredi Town 58 5 Ideological and Social Tension between Haredim and Non-Haredim 62 Conflict between Different Normative Systems 62 The Pardes Katz Quarter of Bene Beraq — A Secular Nucleus in a Haredi Environment 65 Social Tension in Betar Illit 74 6 Security Problems in a Haredi Town in the Territories 78 Haredim on Guard 78 Guard Duty in a Haredi Town 84 7 An Atmosphere of Change in Haredi Society 88 Background: A Haredi Community in the Process of Change 88 Changes in the Status of Women and their Implications for Haredi Municipal Rule 90 How the Haredi Community Views its Town 92 Democracy and Haredi Governance 102 8 Reflections on the Future of Haredi Municipal Rule 113 The Technical Level 113 The Social Level 114 The Ideological Level 116 Epilogue 118 Bibliography 122 List of Maps Map 1 — The Haredi Population in Jerusalem, Indicated by Votes for Ashkenazi Haredi Parties 4 Map 2 — Bene Beraq in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area 5 Map 3 — Betar Illit in the Jerusalem Metropolitan Area 18 Map 4 — Bene Beraq and Pardes Katz 66 Acknowledgments This publication, which is based on the study of two cities — Bene Beraq and Betar Illit, was assisted by several people and various organizations. The Pin- has Sapir National Lottery Fund provided a research grant for the study of Betar Illit as a Haredi suburb; Mrs. Rachel Rosenberg made available the ar- chive of J. Rosenberg, the initiator of Betar Illit; Rabbi Moshe Leibovitz, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Betar Illit, encouraged me to follow the establishment and development of the city from its inception to the end of the executive committee’s tenure; Rabbi Leibovitz assisted the research throughout, providing data and clarifications and being available at all times. My students in the Department of Geography at Bar-Ilan University partici- pated in part of the fieldwork in Betar Illit and Bene Beraq and assisted in data gathering and analysis. Margalit Sinai was data coordinator and Michal Gutt- man arranged the documents collected from the J. Rosenberg archive chrono- logically and according to subject matter. Major David Ben-Simon guided the chapter on security. Employees of the local authorities — the executive committees of Betar Illit and Bene Beraq — assisted with data, background information, and defini- tions. My gratitude is extended to David Berkowitz, secretary of the local ex- ecutive committee in Betar Illit; Rabbi Nahum Fishman, director of religious services in the committee and chairman of the transportation committee in Betar Illit; Yossi Cohen, director of the engineering department in Betar Illit; Dr. Arie Hecht, auditor of the Bene Beraq municipality and deputy chairman of its appointed committee; Yehoshua Davidowitz, director general of the city of Bene Beraq during part of the term of the appointed committee; and Moshe Qatabi, director of Project Renewal in Bene Beraq. Thanks are also due to employees of the Bene Beraq municipality and members of the Haredi com- munity who assisted us. Although they remain anonymous, they clarified many issues raised by the research. Special thanks are due to Hune Margulies, who was Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal at the time of the research, for his guidance through the alleys of Haredi suburbs in New York. He is currently a doctoral candidate in urban planning at Columbia Uni- versity. My thanks to my colleagues at the Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies — Prof. Amiram Gonen, its Director, and Prof. Shlomo Hasson, who heads the Religion, Society, and State Project, for their useful comments and the hours of productive discussions. Introduction The status of the Haredi (ultra-orthodox) community in Israel underwent radi- cal change in the 1980s and 1990s. This has attracted a great deal of academic and public attention, as it is perceived as the focus of conflict between the or- thodox and secular communities in Israel. The “orthodox” and “secular” can be distinguished as those who see them- selves committed to a lifestyle dictated by the principles of halacha (Jewish law) — the orthodox, and those who do not believe in a commitment to up- hold those principles — the secular. This distinction is categorical and a wide range of approaches to religion can be found within the two. The orthodox public can itself be divided into two — Haredi orthodox and modern orthodox. Modern orthodoxy is characterized by a commitment to halacha accompanied by an openness to the modern world and its values, as- sociating with both religious values and those of modern Western society. Haredi orthodoxy is more difficult to define. It is, of course, committed to halacha, but at the same time demonstrates an allegiance to the strict obser- vance of tradition and customs that developed in the Jewish communities of eighteenth and nineteenth century Eastern Europe, with a tendency to prefer the stricter options of halachic rule. The religious-cultural and social background of Haredi orthodoxy warrants clarification as it can elucidate the complex relations between the Haredi community and the modern city. Halacha developed as a system of prece- dents: rabbinical responses to questions that arose in the orthodox community were written down as precedents and later used as halachic principles. For every thousand questions of halacha put to rabbis, there are some 900 ready responses. In other words, it is possible to immediately point to the relevant article in the accepted literature as the authoritative response.
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