Israel’s black-suited ultra-Orthodox Jews, or Haredim, traditionally devoted themselves to Talmudic texts rather than seek employment. But now these Haredim are increasingly joining the workforce in order to support themselves—and a new tech incubator in Tel Aviv is helping them do just that.
KamaTech was established in 2013 with help from an NGO that deals with finding employment for Haredim, but after receiving interest and support form large tech companies including Microsoft, Cisco and Google, the company broke off on its own in 2015.
Among the startups that have been funded and supported by KamaTech are Cognilyze, which uses big data for targeted advertising; Pojo.me, which provides drag and drop WordPress themes for websites; WorkCapital, a platform that provides working capital to small businesses; and Prog, which provides tech training courses for ultra-Orthodox men and women, the Times of Israel reports.
KamaTech founder Moshe Friedman, an ultra-Orthodox Jew himself, said the company was created to address the social and economic problem of a growing non-working, impoverished ultra-Orthodox class in Israel.
“Our goal is to bring more and more Haredi men and women into the high tech workforce,” Friedman said via email. “To help them get good jobs, and some of them will become entrepreneurs and employers themselves.”
Kamatech is a non-profit organization, and receives funding and support from tech entrepreneurs as well as from American philanthropic foundations, the Israeli government, and the US embassy to Israel. According to the company website, Israel’s thriving tech industry presents a promising opportunity for Haredim.
“The need for more and more high-tech entrepreneurs and talented engineers fits the need of many members of the Orthodox community,” the website states. “It provides a dignified livelihood.”
Finding gainful employment for Israeli Haredim is considered to be imperative to Israel’s future economic health. According to a June 27, 2015 article in the Economist entitled “Eat, Pray, Don’t Work,” quoting a study by Israel’s finance ministry, Israel’s national debt is on track to reach 170 percent of its GDP over the next 50 years if current trends continue. As of the time of the study, only 47 percent of Haredi men participated in the workforce, and with the birth rate of Haredim at double the national average, the country’s percentage of non-working adults will continue to grow without intervention.
Government-supported religious study has been ingrained in the fabric of Israeli society since the founding of the country, and still has substantial political support via ultra-Orthodox political parties in Israeli parliament. That said, many ultra-Orthodox are embracing the opportunity to enter the workforce. The number of working Haredim doubled from 2008-2014.
Despite the increases in working Haredim, Friedman found them underrepresented in the high-tech sector when he began his startup company three years ago.
“I realized that there were no Haredim in Israel in the startups ecosystem, and I found it very difficult to navigate this world without networking and help,” Friedman said. “I was like a stranger.”
He promptly teamed up with Yossi Vardi, a pioneer in Israeli tech who helped build over 40 tech companies including Israel’s largest energy company, and Zika Abzuk, a senior manager at Cisco who has been involved in efforts to make the Israeli workforce more inclusive and diverse. Other major players in the tech scene quickly followed suit. Friedman and KamaTech have received support in the form of funding or mentorship from tech companies Wix, Outbrain, Taboola, OurCrowd, JVP, and Plarium, as well as Microsoft, raising $6.5 million along the way.
KamaTech’s goal of furthering the integration of Haredim into the Israeli workforce is not without its challenges. Relations between Israel’s secular and ultra-Orthodox Jews remain strained. That said, the company has had success thus far. Speaking to the Times of Israel, one of KamaTech’s female entrepreneurs, an ultra-Orthodox woman who dresses modestly and covers her hair with a wig, said that potential business partners have been receptive.
“As soon as they hear what we are offering,” in her case, software to improve company communications, “we get right down to business, and there are no questions about my lifestyle. Nobody cares.”