Charedim struggle after specialist retailers shut

V THE WIDER effects of the lockdown on the strictly Orthodox have been highlighted by the Interlink Foundation.

Its director of public affairs, Joel Friedman, says the Charedi community has been acutely impacted by the closure of “non-essential” shops during the latest lockdown.

“Unique to the Jewish community and maybe even more so the Charedi community is that you have lots of small shops, for example, shoe shops, clothes shops and the like,” Mr Friedman explained.

“Our high street looks different to other high streets, with small shops.”

Those businesses did not have an online presence, and in any case, a number of Charedi families did not have internet access at home.

Community leaders had made the issue “very clear” to the government. Mr Friedman described as “very worrying” the recent report by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research which suggested that Charedim were among the hardest hit in terms of lost jobs or reduced working hours as a result of the pandemic.

He praised the efforts of charities and community members who had stepped in to help.

“Every £10 makes a huge difference,” Mr Friedman said. [For] people who are on the lower end of the economic ladder with larger families, it’s dire.”