Haredi (material) cultures of health at the 'hard to reach' margins of the state

The Haredi minority in England is growing rapidly and is projected to constitute the majority of the overall Jewish population by the middle of the twenty-first century. Haredi Jews are portrayed as being ‘hard to reach’ by the English and European public health authorities, typically because of ‘low uptake’ or ‘compliance’ with certain preventive health services – especially immunizations – which present implications for ‘herd immunity’ and the control of infectious disease. The ‘hard to reach’ accusation of moral failure that is propagated by the state and its public health authority can then be inverted to argue how state services actually fail to reach the expectations of Haredi Jews. The margins or peripheries have historically posed a threat to the state by offering a tempting alternative to life as a subject, reaffirming the need for intervention. The settlement under study has a range of Haredi-led institutions, enterprises and services that are designed to support and sustain its anticipated growth.