Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, Jews will soon make up one-third of Israel’s population. That’s why in 2018, JFN Israel assisted several of its members in creating the Haredi Employment Coalition, a partnership of 13 funders and organizations seeking to increase employment opportunities for this sector. The initiative -- which is now an independent effort -- brings together government ministries, civil society and employers from the business sector to boost employment rates among Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews.

On Feb. 3, coalition members met with President Reuven Rivlin to launch a joint venture with the Israeli government. The venture will implement recommendations from a study the coalition commissioned last year, which analyzed the root causes of haredi underemployment and outlined six courses of action to support the current workforce and improve education for future workers.

Recommendations include convening teams to raise awareness among employers and create a business case for hiring haredi Jews, as well as providing cultural support making it easier for haredi Jews to adapt to multicultural work environments.

At the Feb. 3 meeting, Rivlin congratulated the participants and noted that “Haredi society is responsible not only for itself but for the resilience of Israeli society and economy, and the coalition’s efforts in partnership with the Haredi society will ensure their contribution to the continued growth and development of Israel.”

The coalition is co-chaired, by JFN members Daniel Goldman and Michal Herzog of the Wohl Foundation and is headed by Chaviva Eisler.