Economics
Virus Shines a Light on Housing Plight of Israel’s Orthodox Jews
- Their dense living quarters make them hotbeds of virus surges
- The pandemic may add to pressure to migrate from the center
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Below ground level in Bnei Brak, a densely packed ultra-Orthodox Jewish city in Israel’s center, 23-year-old Eliyahu lives with his wife and daughter in a converted parking garage. There’s no sunlight or cell-phone service in their two-room apartment, and rent isn’t cheap at 3,200 shekels ($945) a month. But Eliyahu isn’t thinking of moving.
“My work is here, my wife’s work is here, friends are here, family is here,” said the events planner, who asked that his last name be withheld. “I still haven’t explored the idea of living in another place.”