Haredim

Israel cannot solve its draft crisis without confronting the status quo - opinion

This systemic self-destructive behavior of Israeli governments, letting one group decide and legislate what is religiously (and therefore civically) acceptable, is the root of today's inequality.

HAREDI MEN clash with police officers and civilians as they block a road during a protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who refused IDF service, on Route 90, on October 18, 2026.
Haredi draft protesters attempt to break into IDF office in Bnei Brak, October 14, 2026.

Two haredi protesters arrested after attempting to break into IDF office in Bnei Brak

A plume of smoke rises during a reported airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition on the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sana'a, October 9, 2026

Deri issues haredi draft law ultimatum as Houthis threaten Saudi Arabia

 A soldier from the primarily Orthodox and haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Netzah Yehuda Battalion during a swearing-in ceremony at the Western Wall, Jerusalem, June 11, 2025.

Female IDF officer denied entry to haredi military base because of gender, IDF says


Israel's government knew the risks of haredi draft evasion – and ignored them - opinion

Leadership is supposed to be about making difficult decisions for the good of the country, even when they carry political costs. What we saw this week is the opposite.

A plenum session and a vote on a bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, July 14, 2026.

Why Gadi Eisenkot is rejecting the haredi political embrace that once helped Netanyahu win

POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Yitzhak Yosef’s embrace – and Eisenkot's effort to distance himself from it – reflects Israel's shifting political landscape.

Amid reports that the Shas Party could be willing to sit with him in government, Yashar Party head Gadi Eisenkot did not rule out that option entirely. Here, Eisenkot attends the Sagi Laws for Equality Confrence at the Peres Center in Jaffa earlier this week.

High Court names nine-justice panel to hear petitions on law halting arrest of haredi draft dodgers

The dispute comes after a succession of increasingly forceful High Court judgments on inequality in military service and the government’s failure to enforce the existing draft law.

President of the Supreme Court Isaac Amit arrives for a hearing on petitions alleging flaws in the legislative process of the Communications Bill at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, July 13, 2026.

Knesset votes to freeze arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders amid IDF manpower crisis

Bill passes 58-54 despite legal warnings, IDF opposition • Netanyahu heckled by opposition lawmakers shouting 'disgrace' before leaving plenum ahead of the vote

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Knesset vote on a bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders, in Jerusalem, July 14, 2026

Voting rights and PACs: Solutions for the haredi draft evasion problem - opinion

Our soldiers are exhausted. Over half of our reserve soldiers have logged hundreds of days of military duty. We can’t continue to ask them to shoulder the burden alone.

The Knesset House Committee votes to advance the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties' bill that seeks to enshrine Torah Study in the country's Basic Law. June 30, 2026.

Basic Law: Debasing Torah - opinion

The proposed Basic Law: Torah Study would grant constitutional status to Torah study, but in practice it would turn a sacred obligation into a political and legal instrument. That would harm Torah...

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from the Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty study Torah outside the Justice Ministry in Jerusalem during a silent protest against the imprisonment of yeshiva students who failed to comply with military recruitment orders, July 1, 2026; Illustrative.

Jerusalem partially saves historic Bikur Cholim building after backlash over haredi seminary plan

Opponents propose turning it into a cultural or arts center, heritage campus, performance venue, cafes and community spaces, or a museum on Jerusalem medicine and preservation.

The Jerusalem Bikur Cholim hospital in Jerusalem closes due to lack of money. November 30, 2010.

Haredi leadership and Netanyahu are facing the same dilemma - opinion

Haredi leadership is throwing everything at the wall: a Basic Law, road-blocking protests organized by the party, voting boycotts in the Knesset – anything to convince their base they can deliver

HAREDI DEMONSTRATORS protest in Jerusalem on July 23, 2025.

Laundering human capital: The reckless amnesty bills and their debasement of the Torah - opinion

Under the guise of concern for the world of Torah, two bills are on the table: the Basic Law: Torah Study on the one side, and the Law of Exemption from Arrests on the other. 

Haredi anti-draft protesters block Highway 4 near Bnei Brak denouncing the detention of a draft dodger, February 9, 2026.

Likud MK Kallner opposes criminal arrests for haredi draft evaders, backs economic sanctions

Kallner, a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, told 103FM that he does not think arresting yeshiva students is 'the right way.'

An Israeli soldier guard as young men gathered during a demonstration by Ultra-Orthodox Jews against Israel's military draft on June 17, 2026 outside the Beit Lid military base in Kfar Yona, Israel. The conscription of young ultra-Orthodox men into the military, from which they were long exempt.