U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, with members of Israel's haredi Jews. Photo: wiki commons.

Israel Hayom – You will be seeing them near you. You will not find them in movie theaters or nightclubs, but you will see them driving the Mazda on your right at the traffic light. They will be standing on line in front of you and behind you at the duty-free shops in Ben-Gurion Airport and will be sitting at the next table in restaurants all over the country. They work for a living just like you do, and in complete opposition to the description of haredim as parasites, they earn salaries similar to those of the Israeli middle class.

This description comes from a haredi man wearing a black suit and a black skullcap on his head. He represents the “new haredi” movement that has had Israel’s religious world in an uproar in the recent past. If this phenomenon had been hidden away like skeletons in the closets of haredi society until fairly recently, now no one dares to ignore it.

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