At a grand event attended by the Minister of Trade and
Industry, the Mayor, the head of the Malam Group and other
distinguished guests, the Malam Group inaugurated Maalot
— The Center for Development and Training in Beitar
Illit.
Twenty-six women will be employed in the initial phase at the
branch opened at the Mifal Hapayis Professional Training
Center on Rechov HaRav Auerbach. The Malam Group announced it
has begun recruiting 30 more women to work at the new center,
which focuses on developing software for the high-tech
industry. Malam is a private company that was once the
Israeli government's captive software development house.
The ceremony opened with a working meeting attended by
Minister of Trade and Industry and Deputy Prime Minister Eli
Yishai, Mayor Rabbi Yitzchok Pindrus, Malam owner R' Shlomo
Eisenberg, Ministry of Trade and Industry Director Prof. Gabi
Maimon and representatives from the JDC (Joint Distribution
Committee), the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Malam
Group. At the meeting Mayor Pindrus called on Trade Minister
Yishai to promote the construction of industrial areas in
Beitar Illit to increase the number of women employed at the
Malam Group as well as other companies slated to come into
the city.
Minister Yishai said he has been promoting the issue of
women's employment in the city for the past ten years and
will continue the efforts made by his predecessor, Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert, to advance the various employment
projects in full cooperation with the Ministry of Trade and
Industry, the JDC and the City of Beitar Illit.
Afterwards Municipality Director and Founding Council Head R'
Moshe Leibovitz led a ceremony opening the new Malam Group
project. "Im ein kemach ein Torah," he said, and the
leaders of the city of Torah in the Judean Mountains are
working in accordance with daas Torah, which has
enabled the city to set an example in every area including
advancing employment solutions for kollel wives.
The first speaker was the rov and av beis din of
Beitar Illit, HaRav Dovid Tzvi Ordentlich, who began by
citing the Rambam in Hilchos Tzedokoh, saying that the
highest aim is not to give tzedokoh but to make it
possible for the receiver not to need it anymore —
vehechezakto bo. "One cannot wait until somebody
falls, but must stand him up before he falls by means of a
dignified livelihood. The project set up here today is a
realization of this and the goal is to allow people to stand
on their own two feet. Our generation has the merit of
neshos chayil who support their families to allow
their husbands to press ahead in their Torah learning and to
grow into gedolei Torah. This allows bnei Torah
to rise up, which benefits Am Yisroel. All this thanks
to the dedication of neshos chayil.
"They say chareidim don't want to work. Yet here women are
working after studying a viable profession and they work just
as well as their detractors. This event symbolizes another
building block in the life of the city and its Torah
development."
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry Eli
Yishai said that years ago he was a full partner in the setup
of the Center for Professional Training. "I extend my
blessings to all those who took part in setting up this
important project and we will help advance employment
solutions for women in the city, and little by little we will
bring many more [companies] to Beitar Illit, because this is
the best form of tzedokoh for the residents —
finding employment solutions for kollel wives."
R' Shlomo Eisenberg, the owner of the Malam Group, was
visibly excited over the opening of the branch in Beitar
Illit. Chareidi women are typically responsible, reliable and
have a high work ethic, he said, calling on the Ministry of
Trade and Industry, the City of Beitar Illit and the JDC to
be full partners in help advance the project.
Mr. Chaim Posner, representing the JDC, said the organization
is providing half of the budget the government allocated for
promoting the employment of chareidi women. "It's easy to
bring contributions from abroad for promoting employment for
women from the chareidi community," he said and expressed
hopes that the project succeeds.
The final speaker, Mayor Rabbi Yitzchok Pindrus, said, "The
Malam Group's R' Shlomo Eisenberg and I formed a partnership
to ease the burden on lomdei Torah by allowing their
wives to provide them a dignified livelihood." He also called
on the JDC to stop the various steering committees and to
begin funding existing projects and others slated to begin
operating in Beitar Illit. "We want to develop the project
and this requires government funding. I call on the Ministry
of Trade and Industry to act as a guarantor and to provide
funding and training support for five more years."
He thanked all those who assisted in setting up the project,
including his office director, Rabbi Yosef Shetreet, Mrs.
Meller of the JDC, a Beitar Illit resident who formed ties
between the Malam Group and the city, Mr. Ayal Kaminka and
Mr. Yossi Ofer, coordinator of chareidi communities for the
Ministry of Trade and Industry-JDC program, Mr. Reuven Gorbat
and Rabbi Hershel Klein.
The way was paved for the opening of the Malam Group facility
several months ago when Mayor Pindrus signed an agreement
with the company following a series of meetings. Several
weeks ago the company screened women with a background in
computer engineering and software development or graduates of
computer courses with an employment history. The company is
offering a high salary and opportunities for advancement. In
later phases the branch hopes to provide jobs for hundreds of
kollel wives.
