Q&A: Elections in Haredi Society
Elections in Haredi Society
Question
I’ve been getting more and more exposed to Haredi society over the past three years, and from talking with them I’ve discovered that a very large part of that society votes for the Haredi parties solely because they are Haredi parties, even though they agree with almost nothing those parties do, and they even know that in practice those parties harm them no less than they help them.
From talking with them, I understand that there is simply no way to talk to them at all about voting for another party.
Can you say what this stems from? After all, you studied in Haredi yeshivot for several years and were even more familiar with that society than I am. Is there any hope at all that Haredi society will begin voting for sensible parties that work for the whole state and in a sensible way? Talking with them about issues reveals completely different basic assumptions, so that any conversation with them about anything is one big frustration. This question occupies me a great deal, since my wife’s family is Haredi and therefore I’m very exposed to the very different discourse on their side.
Answer
Unfortunately, my impression is exactly like yours, and I have no suggestions.
Discussion on Answer
I don’t know. So far it’s not really happening. I also don’t think they’re entering society significantly more. These are still fairly marginal phenomena.
Depends who.
There are the hard-core ones who don’t go near anything at all, but there are also “modern” Haredim who are gradually going out to work more and enlisting in the army (even if that’s mainly in places where they study in the army and serve a very short period).
It admittedly has almost no effect at all on their views, but there are small shifts.
And here is Tamritz’s response—a formerly Haredi person from the heart of Ashkenazi Haredi society—to the question you’re raising:
In your opinion, will the entry of the Haredim into Israeli society, which has been happening more and more in recent years, cause a greater desire for political influence and involvement in the state, and maybe they’ll start voting for other parties?
I was thinking in an interesting direction: maybe if a new Haredi party were established, it could take votes from the Haredim and perhaps change this absurd situation?