New ultra-Orthodox residents make Israel's Dimona nervous
Many secular residents of the southern town of Dimona are afraid that new residents, families from the Gur Hasidic community, will change the character of their town.
About 20 families from the Gur Hasidic sect, the largest and most powerful among the Hasidic sects, recently left the ultra-Orthodox communities where they lived and bought apartments in Dimona. Those familiar with the ultra-Orthodox way of life know that such a move is anything but trivial. Ultra-Orthodox families do not quit their communities without a good reason, and they certainly don't move to a town where there are no ultra-Orthodox education institutions.
One of the pressing problems for the ultra-Orthodox in Israel is an unmet need for housing.
According to a study by the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs, the ultra-Orthodox public, which has an especially high birthrate, will make up 14% of the population of Israel in 2025 and 18% in 2035. This growth rate will require no less than 200,000 housing units for the ultra-Orthodox community alone.
Among the options discussed in the community was building two new ultra-Orthodox cities, but other such plans have failed. Harish in the north has become a mixed city after secular Jews questioned the legality of marketing it solely to the ultra-Orthodox. The planned city of Kassif in the south is stuck in planning stages because of difficulty meeting planning authorities' requirements for workplaces for the ultra-Orthodox and keeping it from becoming another poor bedroom community.
