The Jerusalem MainstreamThe secular and the modern

orthodox communitiesMeir Kraus

The Jerusalem Mainstream

• Jerusalem Population Wide Context

• The Jerusalem Mainstream Characteristics

• The Challenge

• Influential Factors

• Strategies for Coping with the Challenge

The Diverse

Population of Jerusalem

Arabs37%

Ultra-Orthodox Jews21%

The Jerusalem

Main-stream 42%

The Jerusalem Mosaic• Secular & Modern Orthodox in Jerusalem – 344,700

• Total population in Tel Aviv – Yafo 418,600

• Total population in Haifa 273,200

Jerusalem:

• Largest City in Israel

• Largest Arab community

• Largest Ultra orthodox community

A Question of Perception• An Ultra orthodox city?• An Arab city?

Jerusalem Socio-Economic Status

Standards of living

The Jerusalem Mainstream

Separate communities Socio-economic differences

The Jerusalem

Mainstream

Characteristics

Socio-Economic Characteristics

Religious Characteristics

Demographic Characteristics

Geographic Characteristics

SecularReligious

Young adults Elderly

Creative Class Service & Working Class

Inner CityOuter Neighborhoods

Employees

by Occupation

32%

Academic Professionals17%

Service & sales workers 11%

Managers

Population by Age18% -

age 20-3526% - age 65 +

Median age: 30.380% -

Family households20%

Non-family households

30%41% 29%

32% in Academic Professions 17% in Service & Sales Work

Employed persons

Median age: 30

14% age 65 +

18% age 20-34

Small apartmentsSecular culture

Public transit oriented

Lower housing pricesPrivate car oriented

Attractive to families

35,000 Students

Strengthen the connection between the Mainstream communities and the city of Jerusalem.

Making the city more attractive to those communities .

Thus, encouraging young people to call the city home.

The Challenge of Jerusalem

Influential Factors

Employment

Housing

Culture

Education

Community

“There are jobs in my line of work in Jerusalem but most of the valued and high wage jobs are located in Tel Aviv” (Secular, economist, 27)

“We like to live in Jerusalem but we couldn’t afford the high housing prices ”

(Observant, emigrated to Kfar Etzion, 31 )

“Lately, a good atmosphere is developing in the city with great culture and sport events ”

(Observant, 26)

“Since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to study in Jerusalem and for me this includes living here”

(Secular, Student in the Hebrew University, 24)

“As a young secular woman, I feel like a stranger in my own city.. ..In practice, it’s not pleasant to be part of a minority”

(Secular, 29 )

Influential Factors

Employment

Housing

Culture

Education

Community

Bio-tech Industry

Cultural institutions Academic

institutionsCommunity

councils Public sector

Art and design institutions

Finding a job in the engineering and technology fields

Housing prices

Culture events on Shabbat

Leaving after graduation

Tension between population group

Construction starts

Connecting art and design schools to cultural initiatives

Diverse population

National effort to attract high-tech industry

Construction in the surrounding local authorities

Migration of ultra-orthodox into mainstream neighborhoodsUniversity graduates

Civil society

Sense of community

Strategies

for Coping with

the Challeng

e

Employment Housing Culture Education Community

Incentives for

employing workers in the high tech field Studying in

several academic

institutions simultaneously

Joint efforts to increase

construction starts

Incentives for cultural institutions

Supplemental educational programs in

schools

Internship programs in the public

sector

Establishing young

communities in the

neighborhoods

Developing culture

projects on Shabbat

Utilizing neighborhood

resources for the use

of the community

Development of open

spaces by the

community

Incentives for studying in Jerusalem

academic institutions

Culture projects for

youth

Large scale cultural events

Encourage urban

renewal

Thank you!