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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.
EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images

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.  

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