Eric Campbell: Tel Aviv is the heart
of modern Israel. The bustling hub
of the 'Start-Up Nation'. Secular, progressive,
and socially liberal. "While Jerusalem prays,"
the saying goes, "Tel Aviv plays." But just back from the beach,
there's a very different Israel. An ultra-orthodox community that
sees the modern world as sinful. Here, people dress conservatively. Men don't have to work
or do military service. The government pays them
to study the Torah. Their wives
are expected to support them.
As foreign correspondents, we tend to focus on the conflict
between Jews and Arabs. But there's another
intense conflict in Israel - a culture war
between Jews themselves. Most Jews say Ultra-Orthodox
should pay their own way and serve their country. Ultra-Orthodox are digging in. But the more adventurous among them
are stepping into the unknown... ..and trying to find ways
to bridge the divide. In this report, produced by the
European public broadcaster ARTE, we'll explore this divide
in the St
ate of Israel. In the shadow
of Tel Aviv's high-rise, Bnei Brak
is the most densely populated of Israel's Ultra-Orthodox enclaves. It's home to more than
200,000 Ultra-Orthodox Jews, known in Hebrew as Haredim. Only about half of Haredi men
have jobs. The rest spend their days
studying the Hebrew bible, the Torah. Schools like this,
called yeshivas and kollels, are the centre of Haredi life. Ultra-Orthodox boys
start yeshiva at age 13 and immerse themselves in the Jewish
law, or halakha, until t
hey marry, then continue their studies
in a kollel. (SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE) Yossef Chabo happily spends hours
poring over religious texts. Yossef is 27 years old. For him, a secular course of study is as unimaginable
as entering the job market. The state helps pay for it, giving students like Yossef
almost $300 a month. The school tops up the allowance
via fundraising, although donations are waning. Along with social benefits, Yossef relies on his wife, Esther,
to support the family. She works
three jobs
while raising their children. Outside Bnei Brak, most Israelis view subsidising
their Haredi neighbours as a burden. Secular Jews
don't just pay high taxes, they have to do at least two years
of military service. Many resent the fact
that Haredim are exempt. During the COVID crisis, tensions between secular
and Ultra-Orthodox worsened. Haredim were criticised
for ignoring government orders. Many rejected school closures,
bans on meetings and wearing masks. Israeli police imposed a cr
ackdown
to enforce the rules. Some Orthodox neighbourhoods were
sealed off and erupted in protest. Member of parliament Alex Kushnir thinks all Jews
should obey the same laws. Israel's founders never intended
to create a divided Jewish society. When the State of Israel
was established in 1948, the Haredim - Hebrew for
'those who tremble before God' - were a tiny minority. They now make up more than
one-eighth of the population. Moshe Glassner is a journalist
at an Orthodox radio station. Moshe s
ays many Haredim now realise the days of sheltering
from the modern world must end. (SPEAKS HEBREW) On the 18th floor of a skyscraper
in Bnei Brak, there's a portal
between Haredim and modernity. Kama-Tech is one of over 100
start-up incubators in Israel, but this one
is tailored for Haredim. Moshe Friedman comes from
a famous rabbinical dynasty and is himself Haredi. He created this hybrid space
between the Start-Up Nation and the Ultra-Orthodox world. The house rules adhere strictly
to religio
us commandments. During breaks,
the men pray as a group. Everything in the office kitchen
is kosher. And women and men work separately. Kama-Tech connects Haredim with the largest tech companies
in the country. Many create their own start-ups
within the incubator. Most of these men had never worked
before they came here. Economics forced them
into the labour market. Moshe founded the incubator to help
Haredim gain financial independence. He says
Israel needs their contribution. Dawn breaks over
Jerusalem. Avroumi Linsche
begins each day at temple prayers. He belongs to the Hasidic sect
of Belz. They speak Yiddish, the old language
of Eastern European Jews. His neighbourhood
is a fortress for his people against the secular world. But Avroumi doesn't fear the unknown. He broke one of his
community's biggest taboos - joining the Israeli Defence Forces. Avroumi served in a combat unit
and is now a reservist, monitoring soldiers with COVID. The Israeli army is a melting pot
of mostly secula
r men and women from all walks of life. To serve his country,
Avroumi had to leave his community. Avroumi moved into a hostel
after his parents kicked him out. Many ultra-Orthodox families
see joining the army as a betrayal. The hostel offers free accommodation to other young Haredim
disowned by their families. They all enlisted voluntarily. (BOTH SPEAK FOREIGN LANGUAGE) Despite the conflict, progressive Haredim like Avroumi
keep pushing the boundaries. After Avroumi joined the army,
he married
Chira, a Haredi he met online. He's encouraged her
to follow her dream of becoming a professional singer - a controversial pursuit
in Ultra-Orthodox communities. (SPEAK FOREIGN LANGUAGE) (SUSTAINS A NOTE) Before starting singing lessons, Chira had never heard
classical music. (SINGS CLASSICALLY) This school caters for Haredi girls
with musical ambitions. It only accepts girls because Talmudic law forbids women
performing in front of men. So Chira will only sing for women. Haredi women are also t
rying
to stretch the limits of what they can wear. We're in the private boutique
of Rivka Aharon. Rivka's designs play with the grey
zones of the Orthodox dress code. The dresses still need to meet
certain criteria or they'll be condemned as unchaste. Today, Rivka is meeting the owner
of a Jerusalem beauty salon. (SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE) They want to combine
their customer data to boost sales. Social networking apps are at
the heart of the marketing strategy. Haredi women rarely have a TV
or ma
gazines at home. In social media adverts, the models convey an image of self-confident women who move with the times. Comedian Melech Zilbershlag tries to find the funny side
of the culture war. His YouTube videos explain
the quirks of observant Jews to mystified secular Jews. (SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE) In this program, he shows how
to tell different Orthodox groups by the shape of their hats, the style of their sidelocks, or even the shape of their shoes. And he tackles
the most common stereotyp
es. (SNIFFS) MAN: Action. (SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE) Melech's colleagues have little
in common with his community. They're western,
secular, almost anti-religious. Dreadlocks versus sidelocks -
two worlds that are strangers. Every day,
Moshe Friedman studies the Torah with a friend
from the start-up incubator. He appreciates the back-and-forth between ancient Jewish tradition
and cutting-edge technology. Slowly, these Haredim communities
are changing from the inside out. Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv -
so close and yet so distant - are starting to move together. Captions by Red Bee Media Copyright
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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