Three Labor Strategies, Three Ultraorthodox Stances – the Resurgence of Labor among Haredi People in Israel

This paper aims to overview labor activism`s rising phenomenon among ultra-orthodox (Haredi) community in Israel. The new labor organization attempts are an outcome of the growing rates of Haredis entering the labor market hence wishing to safeguard their rights. Drawing on in-depth interviews, websites, and digital networks, the paper aims to depict and explain the trend. It starts with mapping the field and then elaborates on three primary Haredi labor strategies: hedging a safe Haredi existence inside non-religious workplaces, anchoring the voice of labor within the Haredi culture, and leverage Jewish orthodoxy to make a universal positive change. Each of the strategies has a conformist aspect as well as an innovative one. In a broader sense, each strategy also represents a more general stance regarding the Haredi existence vis-à-vis the Israeli secular society. The first strategy corresponds to a defensive perspective the Haredi community holds vis-à-vis the Israeli society, of a minority dependent upon the secular majority. Therefore, it wishes to safeguard the Haredi lifestyle without provoking any provocation against the non-religious public. The second strategy represents a more confident and autonomist stance the Haredi community holds, closing its gates to external influences and employ sophisticated cultural tools and institutions to process its conflicts. The third strategy stands for a third Haredi stance, a self-confident approach that reaches out to the outside world to fix it and bring justice according to more universal principles.









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