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A n o t h e r I s r A e l r e v I e w

Modiin Illit

While the recent global economic crisis has been undiscriminatingin its path o destruction, it has nonetheless given rise to a somewhatbizarre marriage o convenience between two unlikely orces: Israeli

high-tech rms and ultra-Orthodox (Chareidim) women.Most Chareidim in the work orce are women, who work in orderto allow their husbands to learn orah ull-time. Until recently,Chareidi womens seminaries primarily prepared their students

or a teaching career. But ew available positions le t most o thegraduates unemployed. On the other end o the spectrum, many high-tech rms have been making cutbacks due to the recession;an afordable sta ng solution with added value was too temptingto pass over.

A study recently conducted by the University o Manchester states,By the year 2020, the Chareidi population o Israel will double toone million and make up seventeen percent o the total population. With this sector traditionally sufering rom high unemploymentrates, such projected numbers bode calamitously on both theOrthodox community as well as Israeli society-at-large acing thetax burden o sustaining these communities.

Rabbi Gutterman is the mayor o Modiin Illit, a Chareidi townlocated hal way between Jerusalem and el-Aviv. From the onseto his term, Gutterman set out to improve the [un]employmentsituation. According to the National Insurance Institute (BituachLeumi) only a dozen or so residents were interested in jobs. Tatcouldnt be! Gutterman told government o cials.Unsatis ed by the Institutes response, Rabbi Gutterman decided todo his homework. He placed an ad in a local newspaper calling orCVs rom local residents. He thought that hed get a low response

rom residents suspicious o his intentions. Te results were beyondhis wildest expectations. I took one o my secretaries to be in chargeo the sorting o the job applications. Already during the rst night, we received 800 axes!Next, Gutterman put to use the skills he gained while assisting Rabbi Avraham Ravitz, the late parliamentarian who chaired the KnessetFinance Committee or many years. Everything that I know abouteconomics is rom on-the-job training, Rabbi Gutterman quips.O course, learning almud helps in analyzing data. Te mayordecided to implement a government plan or calling centers, already used in the 1990s or new Russian immigrants and tailor it to theneeds o Chareidim. He explains that both groups were similar inthat they contain highly intelligent individuals who lack marketableskills.

A Marriage of ConvenienceUltra-Orthodox Women Go Hi-Tech

Rabbi Gutterman took the existing plan, and scaled it down to vehundred employees. He then enlisted the aid o Joe Rosenbaum o the US-based Madison itle Agency to establish a pilot project orEnglish-speaking women. Rosenbaum agreed to take a gamble. He

elt that at the very least it would be an act o charity to support

amilies o orah scholars, Rabbi Gutterman recalls. HoweverRosenbaums CityBook became a success story, hiring eighty employees by the end o its rst year o operation. A ter Rosenbaumpaved the way, other hi-tech businesses were already knocking onGuttermans doors.

You Cant Have Your Cake and Eat it, Too

Te salaries are relatively low, when compared with similar jobs inel-Aviv. For example, one woman working in Quality Analysis at

a local hi-tech rm said that she was receiving less than NIS 4,000[$1000 US] a month while others starting out in el-Aviv earnbetween NIS 5,000 to 6,000. Her non-observant colleague with anengineering degree receives NIS 13,000 a month.Rabbi Gutterman explains: In hi-tech, you need training andexperience. No one is going to hire you without that. He adds thatthe lower salary expectations are part o the incentives or companiesto open up branches in Chareidi towns. Besides, the companiesrealize that theyll have to pay experienced workers more. Projectmanagers make about as much as they would in el-Aviv, RabbiGutterman comments.

But not everyone is going to become a project manager. And how could a amily support itsel on less than NIS 4,000 a month, andpay or babysitting expenses, as well? Eighteen asked.

Look, you cant have your cake and eat it, too, Gutterman responds,adding that the rst workers to be dismissed in the economic crunchare the employees receiving the higher salaries. Indeed, the woman with the engineering degree was one o the rst to be dismissed.

Despite the low salaries, Modiin Illit has become a much wealthiercity since its inception 16 years ago. Te town was ounded as asolution or afordable housing or young married yeshiva students.Back then, the lone pizza shop closed due to lack o business. oday,the town boasts three commercial banks and several shoppingcenters. Gutterman points out the dramatic increase o car owners and tra c jams since his economic plan took of.

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By Samuel Sokol and Avraham ZuroffPhotography by Avi Levine

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A Good Match

Matrix Israel is a prime example o a company that hasbene ted rom this marriage o convenience.Libbie Afen is the COO at Matrix Global ofshoreservices. She has set up two religious divisions atMatrix: a Quality Assurance department and a WebDevelopment department. Afen collaborated withRabbi Gutterman to provide tax breaks and subsidiesto rms willing to relocate their Israel operations to theinsular enclave.

Afen comments on the win-win situation, Tere is amajor scal advantage in employing Chareidi women.Since there is a lower standard o living in theircommunity, and because women with many childrenliving in an isolated religious community such as ModiinIllit are not always willing to commute to central citiessuch as el-Aviv, Matrix is able to pay its workers lessthan they would an equally quali ed employee in anothercity. She hersel is also Orthodox, with a degree inComputer Science rom Tomas Edison University andthirty years o technology and managerial experience ina wide array o capacities, including the post o ormerhead o the Computer Department at the Ministry o Foreign Afairs. Another advantage is that the Chareidi women tend to remain at their jobs. In comparison toIndia and other places, where high turnover o staf isan issue, the companys religious workers have a strongsense o company loyalty.

During the interview, a group o representatives romIntel arrived and were given a tour o the acility asprospective customers. Matrix customers include such

rms as the Bezeq telephone company, el-Aviv basededucational so tware rm ime to Know and the Israeligovernment portal, www.gov.co.il.

CAL, an Israeli provider o Visa credit cards, is the latestaddition to Modiin Illits hi-tech companies. It currently employs several hundred residents.

Mayor Gutterman explains that CALs avorite workersare its Modiin Illit employees because o its high rateo employee retention. ake or example their mainbranch in Givatayim. Most o their workers are students.Tey have career plans, and dont plan to spend many years working there. In contrast, the women in ourtown arent necessarily interested in moving up thecorporate ladder, the mayor says. Teyre happy justto have a job that pays the bills and thats close to home.Employers gain e ciency, as well. Te workers dont waste time sur ng the Internet. And they ask whetherthey can make personal phone calls... With a mostly secular management staf, issues o religious tolerance and mutual understanding are crucial

or the success ul operation o the rm.

According to Afen, the company voluntarily committeditsel to seeking adjudication in issues o Jewish law andcustom rom Rabbi Meir Kessler, the towns chie rabbi.Te rabbi sends a personal representative rom the localreligious council twice a week to make the rounds inMatrixs o ces. Every secular employee who is hired isgiven a brie orientation regarding the workers religious way o li e.

From Off-shore to Close-Shore

oday, outsourcing in Israel has become the catchwordin creating new job opportunities, especially in cities with large religious populations, such as Jerusalem,Modiin Illit and Beitar Illit.

As the high-quality output o Chareidim in the business world becomes more well-known, it is believed thatpotential employers will change their hiring practicesand tap into this vast resource.

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In comparison to India and other places, where high turnoverof staff is an issue, the companys religious workers have astrong sense of company loyalty.

Matrix & CityBook1.O fces

Mayor Gutterman2.Workspace o the3.Chareidi WomenModiin Illit Town Hall4.

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