We Cannot Wait for Permission
Why the New Chareidi Party Must Be Built From the Bottom Up Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein’s wonderful recent Cross-Currents essay, “Boy George Obligates the Fence-Sitters” , ends with the single word that Motti Leitner has chosen to summarize the platform of HaTzibbur HaCharedi : Responsibility That word is exactly why this new party is necessary. Israel’s debate about the Chareidi community has become dominated by military service. That is understandable in a country exhausted by war and repeated reserve duty. But beneath the draft controversy lies an even broader question: Can a rapidly growing community build its future around economic dependence, inadequate preparation for employment, and the assumption that someone else will continue paying the bill? That question is not anti- Chareidi . It is a question about the future of the Chareidi community itself. According to a recent Israel Democracy Institute statistical report, only 54 percent of Chareidi men are employed, and the ...