Israel's struggle to integrate ultra-Orthodox and Arabs raises economic fears

Rabbi Assaf Avitan, founder of Moaz Hatorah, an all-boys school, speaks to children in a classroom in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel July 12, 2017. Picture taken July 12, 2017. REUTERS/Nir Elias

BNEI BRAK, Israel (Reuters) - Chaim Rachmani spends his days studying Jewish religious texts in the Israeli town of Bnei Brak, whose crowded streets brush up against the office towers of Tel Aviv. He has no plans to look for work - ever.

While dressed in a pinstriped business suit, Rachmani is among half of all ultra-Orthodox Israeli men with no job. This trend in a rapidly growing community - along with employment problems among the Arab minority - is raising concerns about the long-term health of an economy now in the midst of a boom.