AC, your comments make sense to me.
The problem is that Rodney was drawing a parallel between Jews who study Jewish law in Jewish religious schools and Muslims who study in Wahhabi-sponsored Muslim religious schools. That parallel is no more apt than a comparison with Monks who spend all day studying in their monasteries.
The issue is what they study, not the fact that they are studying. From what I have read (and, certainly, I am no expert on radical Islam) the teachings in the radical Madrassas are dramatically different than Jewish or Christian religious teachings. Spending all day studying, as far as I am concerned, is not idleness. It may be indoctrination, but it is not idleness. Instead, it can be highly disciplined and very hard work.
I'm not suggesting that those in Jewish Religious schools are comparable to the Wahabbi's. The statement was made not in regards to today's bus attack, but to the statement that Israel is perhaps heading towards a civil war among different Israeli factions. Some are understandably upset that I described it as "sitting around all day", but I still suspsect and stand by the idea that the State of Israel subsidizing people who believe that they never have to work, and also don't seem to think that they have any responsibilities around the home is a bad idea. One of the reasons why I think it is a bad idea is that among populations that don't work, radical ideas that lead to violence seem to gain traction.
I would say that this is different from priests, monks, etc. Because there aren't large swaths of the population and entire cities of priests and monks.
There is a serious misconception about what exactly a true "monastic" life involves. St. Benedict founded the first Christian monastic order in the 6th century. For centuries, the motto of the Benedictine order has been the Latin phrase "Ora et Labora" (prayer and work) . . . Benedictine monks were expected to grow their own food, do their own skilled labor, etc.