25 October 2015

Avodah Ivrit - Jewish Labor

13 Marcheshvan 5776

Let's put the lie to rest that Jewish businesses must hire Arabs to work because Jews won't do those jobs.

Jewish Labor Is There, You Just Have to Want It
By Uri Kirshenbaum on October 21, 2015

An interview with Nerya Ofan, the founder of the “Jewish Labor Forum,” on the potential of using only Jewish labor and on the importance of spreading ideas that raise awareness of the issue.

During the recent wave of terror attacks in Israel, it has often been the case that many of the Arab terrorists worked either for Jewish businesses or for the State (as in the case of the Bezeq employee he rammed into Jews with his car and then jumped out and stabbed several). This fact has led many Jews to turn their attention towards the potential of using Jewish labor.

Even Jews who normally do not focus on finding Jewish workers have found themselves wanting only Jewish workers and wanting to shop in stores that do not hire Arabs.

Fortunately for these Jews, there is already a project that identifies businesses using only Jewish labor and makes it easy to find them. Moreover, the founders of this project explain the importance of Jewish labor even when Arab terror is at a lower level. Nerya Ofan, a small-business owner himself, and a few friends who are all students of Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, created the “Jewish Labor Forum” (currently only in Hebrew). The forum is based on the internet and is a list of businesses throughout Israel that employ only Jews....

See the whole thing here.

(Source: HaKol HaYehudi English Magazine)

2 comments:

  1. I've been saying that for the longest time. It's just an excuse not to pay a decent wage to a Jewish worker. Jews are willing to put the lives of other Jews in danger so to save some money. The spirit of the original pioneers (chalutzim) is long gone. Then it was true idealism; today the Jew must realize that it is only Torah that unites us and keeps us as a people and that spirit has to be reawakened in every Jew, which will bring a special love to the Land and to their fellow brothers/sisters. Only by understanding that the Land of Israel is like no other on earth; that it was given as an eternal inheritance to the children of Israel by Hashem, will the spark of the Jew reignite and even the most distinguished of our people will gladly want to do the most menial work. Hopefully, many arabs will emigrate when there is no work to be gotten.
    nili

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  2. I think you are looking at it from the wrong perspective.

    It is patently obvious that Jews are willing and able to do most of the jobs that Arabs do.

    Besides the toxic PC climate (which seems to encourage employing known hostiles), there is a very hostile legal environment regarding a large source of Jewish labor.

    As a father of three very healthy teenage sons, I have experienced this up close and personal.

    Why are the Arabs doing jobs like gas station attendant, market stock boy and cashier and the like? Do Jews really consider those jobs beneath them? Anyone who actually does fall for that argument (and I hope that no Jews do) is stupid. I mean, you have to be an idiot to even consider such an idea.

    I only know of my experience growing up, but it was the experience broadly across the US until that time and even a bit after (I was born in 1966). Kids in large numbers worked many of these jobs, especially during the summer months. I worked after school my junior and senior year in high school, and so did many of my classmates. I was paid a little above minimum wage ($3.35 at the time) and even saved money the entire time. I lived in a wealthy area with a name that (hint, hint) starts with "Beverly" and ends with "Hills." Kids still worked. Those kinds of jobs.

    What I was told by businesses in Jerusalem is that while it is technically legal to hire minors, the legal hurdles are such that no one wants to hire them. My kids' summer vacation is two months. Even 17 year olds.

    The second problem is the minimum wage. Following the same logic, it is set absurdly high, especially for unskilled labor. There really should be NO minimum wage (Switzerland doesn't feel the need to enact one, for example; if the government wants to mimic the goyim, at least follow their example). That, and a severe curtailment of evil child labor laws (my children, even at bar mitzvah, were taller and more developed than many legal adults) that prevent teenagers from being able to work.

    Those two moves would see a large addition of Jewish labor willing to compete with the Arabs in the one area they excel at today - willingness to work for comparatively little.

    Forcing or expecting businesses to add significantly to their expenses for this unrealistic and unreasonable. These are often businesses with thin profit margins (yes, even in Israel with some crazy prices). Even if the business owners speak in platitudes of peaceful coexistence and the like, the real reason they are hiring them in such numbers is because they are just that much cheaper, period. And they are that much cheaper because much Jewish labor is either prevented from working altogether, or forced to work for much higher wages than they would be willing to accept (and there's probably lots of paperwork involved too).

    There are other measure that can be taken, of course. In any case, saying you support "Jewish Labor" is just not enough. In the current climate, it costs more, a LOT more in many cases. Some people are able and willing to pay more (even a lot more; I know someone like this). But I think most, while willing, are simply not able. Do you think even one MK would take on a challenge like this? I doubt it. Which means the problem will continue to fester.

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