Are studies about the chareidi sector objectively research-based or primarily a perpetuation of false claims with an agenda?
IF you’re a consumer of Israeli media, you’ve surely heard the claims that the chareidi community in Eretz Yisrael benefits disproportionately from government funding and leeches off the treasury. Those claims are given legitimacy by graphs and statistics, policy papers from prestigious research groups, and even quotes from senior officials in the Finance Ministry.
Claims such as, “Chareidi students receive NIS 1,500 more a month than their secular counterparts;” “Chareidi gemachs are involved in money laundering and should be banned;” or “Only 30 percent of chareidi bochurim actually attend yeshivah,” are just some of the tropes used to delegitimize the chareidi community and create a national consensus that members of this demographic are parasites draining an otherwise healthy and stable economy.
But even when these claims don’t translate directly into policy, they contribute to the deepening divide in Israeli society. The Israeli public is fed a stream of statistics purporting to expose the chareidi fraud, yet how legitimate are these studies? Are they based on research or just the perpetuation of false claims? And, is there an understanding of the priorities and worldview of the larger chareidi community that is a fundamental aspect of a legitimate study?
In order to provide accurate, reliable, and in-context data on chareidi society, one research group has risen to the challenge: The Wahl Data Center, an initiative of the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs, was created to provide relevant and accurate data on this segment of Orthodox society, in order for decision-makers to have reliable and precise data before formulating policy — because without accurate data, policies don’t always address real needs.
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