ultra-Orthodox Jews growing in tech industry

In the offices of Rav Tech in Bnei Brak, which trains and houses orthodox Jewish computer developers, you only meet men. He wears the classic attire of religious Jews: white shirt, black trousers, velvet yarmulke on his head and a close-cropped beard.

“It was put together by a rabbi. The salaries are interesting, it allows you to work a little less to be able to study Torah and to be able to earn a decent salary.“, explains Iossi Cahen, team leader and father of seven children. “We are in Bnei Brak, we don’t need to go far. We are all in black and white and there are only men who work”, he continues.

In the Lithuanian branch, the largest, 80% of women have a job compared to 50% of men. “Whether it’s someone orthodox or less orthodox, using less technology is an ideal“says Noa, a third-year software engineering student at the Tvuna campus in Jerusalem.

But the one who hopes to work one day for Google or Microsoft concedes that we “can no longer live without technology, it is better to learn to live with it“. She wants to work in her own way, for a controlled use of new technologies.

“There are several styles of kosher phones with specific applications. It’s primarily for self-preservation.”

Noa, student

at franceinfo

In their own way, observant Jews have already established the right to disconnect. On Shabbat, the holy day of rest, and on major holidays, no electronic or electrical device should be operated.

For Iossi Cahen, this intense religious life also prepares brains for the cyber industry. “Everyone who comes here has a Talmudic background. We try to offer outside companies a certain way of thinking, because ultimately, we have spent our lives learning without stopping and in fact in the world of high-tech, technology changes very quickly“, argues the father of the family.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up 12% of Israel’s population, but it’s growing much faster than average: over 6% a year. Half of them are below the poverty line, so their access to the world of work and to decent wages is a major social issue.