Ono’s Chair of the Student Union Challenges Data on ultra-Orthodox Tax Paying and Work Force Participation

Recently, the Calcalist economic journal published data indicating that Hareidi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews contribute less than their fair share to Israel’s economy and pay less than their fair share of taxes.

In an interview to Moshe Glasner who hosts the Central Edition show, broadcast on the Kol Berama station, Binyamin Asher, chairman of the student union at Ono Academic College, critiqued the investigation in Calcalist dealing with the contribution of the ultra-Orthodox public to Israel’s economy. Asher presented data on the labor market and the payment of taxes in the ultra-Orthodox sector that paints a different picture.

Asher claimed that the Calcalist data actually highlights, the plight of ultra-Orthodox students and their desire to attain higher education and be integrated into the work force.  He noted that he raised the issue in a meeting with Minister of Education Yifat Shasha Biton.  Asher said that the numbers of students at Ono Academic College have not diminished, in large part, because ultra-Orthodox see the institution as an academic home.

The full interview can be listened to at: https://www.ifatmediasite.com/ms/radio/2022/12/28/11879725.mp3