Appointing the American woman Haredi as Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology in Biden administration made the news on an ultra-orthodox website in January.
Anne (Chani) Neuberger who grew up in a Hassidic home in Brooklyn was even praised in the report.
This in itself is a disappointment, no matter how horrific the loss of condemnation conversations that criticized everything including the length of her skirt, her straight eye and the fact that she was sitting at meetings with men.
Her detractors were upset that Haredi’s wife could achieve high office. The criticism she received is very similar to the one directed at another Hassidic woman, Rachel “Ruchie” Freier, who was appointed a judge on the New York bench in 2016.
These success stories of Haredi American women should remind Israelis of the impossible price that ultra-rectangular men and women in Israel pay with their leaders.
They depend on the political power of the Haredi parties, which give them de facto control of the ultra-direct community.
Haredi ‘s independent education system does not provide boys with basic scholarships in mathematics, sciences or languages and does not preclude any access to education in state – controlled institutions. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Israeli children growing up in this community are unable to find reasonably paid jobs as adults.
The government is already spending millions of shekels to help Haredi school graduates, mostly men, in their efforts to seize the rest of society. But research shows that there is little return on that investment.
Women in particular are the victims of changing the vague political agreements with Haredi parties made up of only men.
Haredi women are barred from holding any position of power or even getting a chair at the table where urgent decisions about their lives are made.
The few who try to claim political power by working outside the existing parties are under threat, public threat and abuse.
This is unusual, especially since Haredi women in Israel are often far more educated than the men in their communities. They work and gather credentials and experiences that surpass even their American sisters.
In the United States, Haredi men work to provide for their families while their wives stay home to raise their families.
In Israel, men often spend their fertile adult years studying the Torah and it is the duty of women to prepare for the family.
But no matter how high Israeli ultra-rectangular women can climb the ladder of careers, they are still marginalized and largely overlooked by the men in their society.
Under the guidance of a hidden female politeness, which is so prevalent in many in that community, women are still kept out of power positions.
The coronavirus epidemic revealed just how badly Haredi’s leadership has failed in his loyal MPs and how these men have been removed from the real needs of their communities.
These failures could lead to shifts in the expectations of some Israeli Haredi from their political representatives.
4 צפייה בגלריה
Ultra-rectangular men appear in Jerusalem against Haredi school closures during Israel’s third coronavirus lockout
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
New initiatives have already sought to attract voters and may achieve greater benefits if a growing number of Israeli Haredi understand the damage done by the ultra-orthodox sector from the rest of the country, not to mention on the growing tension. in the relationship with the secular state.
They may also come to realize that women can never be silent. The examples of Anne Neuberger, Rachel Freier and others who are sure to follow could be a means of much needed change.
Esti Shoshan is the founder and co-executive director of the Nivharot (Chosen) group – Haredi women for representation, equality and voice