Venturing into Haredi enclaves, an Israeli atheist tries a new form of Jewish outreach

At the edge of the largely ultra-Orthodox central Israeli city of Bnei Brak, 36-year-old atheist Naor Narkis has set up an information booth. It’s Friday, and the street buzzes with the usual pre-Shabbat bustle as people rush to complete their last-minute errands a few hours before sunset, when public transportation will halt and shops will close for the day of rest.

Narkis founded a movement in 2024 called Hozrim Betvuna (“Returning to Reason”) whose self-stated goal is to provide information to “help those who wish to leave the ultra-Orthodox world.”

Despite their hurry, many slow down to glance curiously toward the booth, where a handful of secular activists hand out brochures to teenage boys in black hats.

A slim blue leaflet lists “Ten Reasons to Leave the Ultra-Orthodox Community,” which include escaping the rigidity of an oppressive environment, pursuing professional fulfillment, earning a living, and enjoying sexual freedom.

“I want to encourage you to make your own choices, to live your own life, instead of following the rabbis’ orders,” Narkis tells one intrigued Haredi passerby. Their exchange ends with a warm handshake.

Others react with hostility. “Coming into a religious city to hand out flyers to secularize the ultra-Orthodox — just like it says on your sign — is pure provocation,” a woman fumes, pointing at the movement’s blue-and-white banner.

The conversations between activists and passersby continue peaceably until the police arrive and order the group to pack up, citing a “public disturbance.”

“We’ve had several calls,” an officer explains.

The scene is a stark reminder that, beyond the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught, additional divides continue to shape Israeli society, including the tension between religious and secular communities.

Popping the education bubble

Haredim (a Hebrew term for ultra-Orthodox that literally means “those who tremble before God”) make up roughly 14 percent of Israel’s 10 million citizens. Adherents to the Haredi brand of Orthodoxy are governed by strict religious laws and often reside in insular, self-contained communities to distance themselves from the influences of the outside world.

With a record fertility rate of 6.4 children per woman, Haredim could account for 32% of Israel’s population by 2065, according to projections by the Central Bureau of Statistics — a demographic trend that Narkis sees as a threat to the country’s stability.

“Economically, it’s unsustainable,” he says bluntly. Many Haredi men do not work, instead dedicating their lives to Torah study in yeshivas (religious schools), supported by costly government subsidies. This keeps much of the community in poverty, Narkis argues — a situation perpetuated by ultra-Orthodox parties such as Shas and United Torah Judaism, which have become key players in coalition governments. In exchange for their political support, they secure crucial influence over issues including public transport and education.

The latter has become a hot-button issue as Haredi elementary and high schools often choose to focus on religious studies while neglecting to seriously teach secular topics, with little meaningful oversight or enforcement of educational standards to which other communities are held.

“The state is funding schools that don’t teach math, English, or science, leaving students ill-equipped for the workforce,” Narkis adds.

The gap between the ultra-Orthodox and the rest of Israeli society is also widening over the contentious issue of mandatory military service. Since Israel’s founding, the Haredi community has been exempted from the military draft. Despite the Supreme Court overturning that exemption last June, very few Haredim have joined the ranks of the IDF, while hundreds of secular and religious Zionist soldiers have been killed since a multi-front conflict erupted with the Hamas invasion of October 7, 2023.

For Narkis, the stakes couldn’t be higher: “We live in a hostile environment, and we need to stay strong — economically and militarily. We won’t survive otherwise.”

But he warns that Israel’s demographic and political trajectory also threatens the foundations of its liberal democracy. The Haredi worldview, rooted in halacha, or Jewish law, sometimes clashes with Israel’s pluralistic, egalitarian values, Narkis says, foreshadowing a future where individual rights may be eroded.

For the activist, reversing the tide is urgent, and education is the key.

Narkis grew up in a secular family in a Tel Aviv suburb that still observed a few Jewish traditions such as Friday night kiddush. At 18, he watched his sister marry an ultra-Orthodox man and move to Bnei Brak. She went on to have eight children and cut off nearly all contact with the family. Only their mother is still allowed to visit — provided she wears a long dress and black gloves.

This family rupture pushed Narkis to investigate his nieces’ and nephews’ lives by gathering testimonies from former Haredim. What he uncovered shocked him: children raised in a rigid system and taught to fear breaking religious rules.

“The ultra-Orthodox school system deliberately keeps students ignorant by withholding core subjects,” Narkis charges. “By the time they’re adults, many don’t know how to write a resume, open a bank account, or even spell their name in English.”

A study published earlier this month by Tel Aviv University researcher Nechumi Yaffe, herself from the ultra-Orthodox community, found that about 50% of Haredim want to integrate into Israeli society by joining the workforce and/or going to university, and many would even be willing to serve in the army. But lack of basic knowledge and social pressure stand in their way.

“We want to extend a hand to help them integrate,” Narkis says, calling the figure encouraging.

Revolution by social media

Thanks to a crowdfunding campaign, Hozrim Betvuna has distributed around 2,500 mobile phones to young Haredim — simple but powerful tools in communities with restricted internet access.

On his YouTube channel, Narkis shares content inspired by the Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment, movement of the 18th and 19th centuries: educational videos on Darwin’s theory of evolution as well as practical guides on how to ace a job interview or avoid an arranged marriage.

A savvy marketer, Narkis leverages the main social platforms popular among young people — TikTok, Instagram, X, and Facebook — and boosts his reach through TV appearances.

His efforts are paying off, he says, backed by analytics. Some videos have racked up nearly 1 million views.

“I get dozens of messages every day from young Haredim across the country asking for advice,” he adds.

Eager to expand the conversation about religion’s role in society, Narkis is now considering a run for office in the 2026 national elections under the banner of the Democrats Party founded last year by Yair Golan and Tomer Reznik in a merger between the left-wing Labor and Meretz parties.

To critics who accuse him of wanting to destroy ultra-Orthodox society — or even of antisemitism — Narkis responds that he respects everyone’s beliefs but wants to offer “an alternative” to those seeking a different path.

“We’re not trying to change their faith; we want to encourage them to make their own choices,” he says.

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