Anti-work attitudes in Haredi Judaism

In Haredi Judaism, some attitudes oppose employment in favor of Torah study. These are particularly prevalent in parts of Israel and have angered others, who feel that the non-working Haredim should not be given government benefits that contribute to allowing this situation to exist and persist. The main reasoning given by those who do not want to work is that the most important value bestowed in Judaism is the study of the religion, and full-time devotion to religious study requires that one not work.
About 60% of Haredi Jews in Israel presently voluntarily do not participate in the secular labor market in order to pursue full-time Torah study and are receiving payments from their kollels, usually financed by rich Haredi Jews abroad, supplemented with meager government stipends for the cost of living.
Different attitudes
Some Haredi groups, in particular the more extremist anti-Zionist movements affiliating with the Edah HaChareidis, avoid receiving government subsidies for their institutions and solely finance themselves with donor funds received from rich Haredim abroad. Their leaders frequently travel abroad to raise funds. These groups also do not participate in the Israeli political process, and some of them avoid any dealings with the state, to the point of not registering as residents or citizens and not using state-provided and financed medical care as well.
Military exemptions
Israeli law provides military exemptions to those who pursue full-time Torah study, while at the same time, prohibits them from working.
Opposition
There is much opposition among other Jews against those Haredim who do not participate in the work force. Much of the concern is economical. Those who fail to work live below the poverty line and tend to receive social benefits financed by the taxes paid by the rest of the population. With the Haredi population growing rapidly, averaging 8 children per family, the percentage they compose of the nation's population is expected to double in 20 years. Some believe this could lead to an economic collapse.
Some Haredim who previously did not want to work, have in recent years changed their attitude.
Chaim Amsellem, an Israeli parliamentary member and a Haredi rabbi himself, stated that government subsidies for kollel students should be reserved only for those destined to be rabbis.

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