Author: Ido Levy / Source: The Next Web
At first glance, it looks like any other shared workspace: the hip interior design, the abstract art, the ferns gracing the round cafe-style tables, the board with the latest news.
But this particular one has a whole library of Talmud books and a strictly kosher kitchen.
These are the workspace areas of companies like KamaTech in Bnei Brak and Bizmax in Jerusalem, which provide ultra-Orthodox Israelis in the high-tech industry with a physical space, mentorship, and collaboration to develop and support startups run by members of their community.
The model works like other Israeli workspaces (think WeWork) and accelerators but focuses on integrating ultra-orthodox entrepreneurs into the sector while accommodating ultra-Orthodox norms and needs, such as kashrut and prayer services, and in some cases, like Bizmax’s, the contentious issue of gender separation.
The concept of shared workspaces has taken off worldwide over the past decade, though more for economic reasons than integrating different communities into the workforce.
Workspace companies act as “professional tenants,” offering office spaces in various complexes to meet the specific needs of clients, Marcus Moufarrige, COO of shared workspace company Servcorp, told the New York Times last year.
Shared workspaces may offer individual desks, offices, or conference rooms for rent on a month-to-month basis to provide clients with flexibility and affordability, while also having common spaces and kitchen areas where employees from the various tenant companies can interact.
New York-based WeWork is a pioneer in this field. Since its co-founding in 2010 by Israeli-American entrepreneur Adam Neumann, WeWork has exploded around the globe, with almost 200 locations around the world and a valuation of $20 billion.
WeWork is now helping KamaTech develop its role in the community as a place for ultra-Orthodox entrepreneurship.
The ultra-Orthodox picture
Over the past several years, ultra-Orthodox Israelis have been increasingly entering the workforce.
Although the ultra-Orthodox community emphasizes devotion to Torah study, ultra-Orthodox employment stands at around 52 percent for men and 73 percent for women as of 2016, up from 36 percent and 51 percent, respectively, in 2003, according to an Israeli Democracy Institute (IDI) Report in 2017.
Some attribute this rise to changing government policies. Decreased government funding for Yeshiva studies and increased incentives to enter the workforce, such as tax breaks and training stipends, may be pointed to as the drivers of this change.
Last year, the Finance Ministry unveiled the “Net for the Family” initiative, giving benefits to families that make above 15,000 NIS a month.
However, there is also a sense of a growing desire for work within the ultra-Orthodox community.
Prolonged, widespread poverty (49 percent of ultra-Orthodox families are below the poverty line, according to the IDI’s Statistical Report on Ultra-Orthodox Society in Israel 2017), rapid population growth (6.9 children per ultra-Orthodox woman) and the decreasing sustainability of full-time Torah study serve as motivations for ultra-Orthodox Jews to seek viable ways to escape poverty and provide for large families.
One intriguing statistic – an increase in internet usage by ultra-Orthodox from 28 percent in 2008-2009 to 43 percent in 2015-2016, according to the IDI report – is indicative of a new trend: the ultra-Orthodox community’s interest in integrating further into Israeli society.
Israel’s high-tech sector is experiencing a shortage of engineers, programmers, and developers and the government is looking for ways to absorb more workers from diverse backgrounds, including those from the ultra-Orthodox and Arab communities.
Yet, the ultra-Orthodox community still faces serious challenges.
Aside from the fact that the ultra-Orthodox population has an exemption from Israel’s military draft (many startup ideas and employees…
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