Cutting support for Haredi families would weaken Israel’s demographic resilience, economy - opinion

A proposal to reduce public support for Haredi families according to the number of children would weaken one of Israel’s distinctive economic strengths, this opinion article argues.

The proposal, presented by the Israel Democracy Institute at the 2026 Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society, would condition child allowances, day care subsidies, housing assistance and child-related tax credits on maximizing earning capacity or civic participation. It distinguishes between protecting children’s basic needs and publicly funding what it calls a “high-fertility pattern.”

The proposal comes as Israel enters the final stretch of an election campaign shaped by war and political uncertainty. The conflict with Iran has not produced an agreement preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. The arrangement on the northern border still faces serious obstacles, while Hamas’s demilitarization remains distant. Yet the article says many politicians have made the “Haredi question,” particularly the dispute over yeshiva students’ conscription, the campaign’s defining issue.

The article calls the policy a step backward and says Israel’s real long-term danger is not too many births, but too few. It points to fertility rates of about 1.4 children per woman in the European Union, around 1.2 in Italy and Spain, and below one in South Korea. Those countries face aging populations, labor shortages and rising pressure on pension and health-care systems.

It argues that population decline can create a feedback loop by increasing the burden on younger generations and making it harder for couples to raise families. Immigration may fill immediate labor shortages, the article says, but it offers only a temporary solution and can create integration difficulties, identity tensions and political polarization. Japan, meanwhile, has limited immigration to preserve social cohesion while paying a heavy economic price as its population falls.