Israel’s Knesset was scheduled to vote on a bill that would greatly increase child allowances paid by the state to families with more than four children, a measure that will primarily benefit haredi, or fervently Orthodox, families. The Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported that at Jerusalem’s Sha’are Zedek Hospital, some 40 women give birth to their 16th or more child each year. According to the hospital, 80 percent of the women admitted to the maternity ward are haredi.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
