Israel's pampered religious welfare class

The Haredi Jews in Israel go to great lengths to remain separate from the larger, secular society. They are so strict that they have their own "kosher cellphones":

The kosher cellphone looks like an ordinary cellphone, can make and receive calls, and may have a calculator and alarm clock.

But it cannot send or receive text messages, browse the internet or take photos - all activities that could potentially involve behaviour considered "immodest" among Haredis.

For example, SMS capability could lead to the unwitting receipt of mass text messages publicising secular events. It could also be used as a method of illicit communication between male and female teenagers.

And it gets weirder:

All the major Israeli cellphone companies have accommodated the powerful Haredi constituency by providing kosher phones, and cheaper-than-normal packages which connect only with other Haredi numbers.

As the companies have created distinct code prefixes to accompany the kosher phone plans, the phone numbers have quickly become a badge of religious observance.

These people remind me of the Jehovah's Witnesses, or maybe the Amish.

One difference is that the Amish actually work for a living. In another BBC article, we find out that the Haredim have special privileges apart from other Israelis:

The ultra-orthodox do not face compulsory conscription; they are exempted from national service in order to continue their religious studies.

I really can't object to that. Conscription is a violation of individual rights, even if religion is an improper basis for the government to make distinctions. So it's good that some people get a way out.

Then do they work in the private sector instead? Nope:

At a food distribution scheme in Mea Shearim, dozens of families come to collect cardboard boxes full of all types of kosher food.

This is not an unusual sight, because most Haredim are poor and many rely heavily on welfare. Government figures suggest that two out of three Haredi men do not have a paid job. [emphasis mine]

More and more, Israelis are asking if this too can carry on.

Let them eat ham and lobster. Hey, beggars can't be choosers.