My husband and I have been thinking about going somewhere with the kids for a night. My 10-year-old's suggestion: "I heard the tents on Rothschild are empty." Yes, the middle-class tent protests in Tel Aviv, about the high costs of property, have been interrupted and possibly abandoned in light of the terror attacks last week in southern Israel. It's also a bad time of year with the kids on vacation and the beginning of school next week. But the issues remain up for discussion. Haaretz reported on the first session of the Trajtenberg committee on socio-economic reform, where policy experts and members of the public can present their ideas—1100 people have sent in proposals. … [Read more...]
Scandal of the Schoolbooks
August 10, 2011 by 15 Comments
It started with a boycott of cottage cheese. Next were protests against high apartment prices and rentals. Then there was daycare, baby items (!) and now electricity. Israelis are protesting high prices everywhere. I'm not sure there is an easy way to solve most of these problems. Health care is cheap here but apartments are not. Vegetables are cheap but dairy products are not. There are issues with corruption and cartels, yet we have a stable economy and low unemployment. The protesters seem to want the government to control prices, and have taxpayer money subsidize most of our basic needs. While I understand the motives for the protests, the ramifications concern me. I'm no economic … [Read more...]
Is 64 Too Old to Make Aliyah?
July 12, 2011 by 26 Comments
UPDATED below with more information for older immigrants. Welcome to all of the new immigrants arriving today, including Raggedy Mom and Samanthat4d. Can you help this reader? He writes: I have been considering moving to Israel. Life in the US is expensive and so is Israel. I could live like a king in India I suppose, but I'm not interested. I don't speak Hebrew. I'm 64. I was in corporate sales for most of my life. I also passed the exam to teach English in my state but I don't have a teaching 'credential'. I have about $1450 in guaranteed income monthly. If you don't mind, is it possible to rent a little studio with a door and a roof and not in a slum and … [Read more...]
The Changing Cost of Shidduchim in the Haredi World
October 27, 2010 by 24 Comments
Haredi educators are noticing that the age of marriage is rising. According to an article in the Hebrew edition of Mishpacha, only 10% of students in a particular seminary got engaged last year instead of the normal 50%. According to the shadchanim (matchmakers) quoted, only 5-10% of girls’ parents can afford to buy an apartment for the young couple in a low-cost haredi project. But the parents of the “good” bachurim (eligible men), are still hopeful, so they wait, while the yeshiva dormitories fill up. These kinds of articles always seem to pit parents of sons against parents of daughters. At least 90% of haredi parents, presumably, have children of both genders. Yet parents … [Read more...]
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