Shas

Government submits 2026 budget to Knesset, Smotrich vows passage despite rifts

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the government was "determined to pass it [the state budget] on first reading,” during a press conference at the Knesset on Monday.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich after a press conference at the ministry, December 4, 2025; illustrative.
MK Yisrael Eichler arrives for a meeting of the Council of Torah Sages regarding the Haredi draft exemption bill in Jerusalem, January 7, 2026.

Netanyahu to appoint UTJ’s Yisrael Eichler to gov’t role to pass contentious haredi draft bill

MK Boaz Bismuth seen with haredi MKs and Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer in the Knesset, Jerusalem, January 14, 2026.

IDF draft equality is minimum condition to restore Israeli solidarity - editorial

Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, head of the Gur hassidic dynasty,  seen after a meeting of the Council of Torah Sages regarding the haredi draft exemption bill in Jerusalem, January 7, 2026.

Ultra-Orthodox sages convene on haredi IDF draft bill, withhold official stance


'Holy Torah will prevail': Haredi lawmakers, ministers rage at Israel's High Court

Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Tradition Minister Meir Porush said the ruling is "leading to two states" of religious and secular Jews.

 (L-R) Jerusalem and Jewish Tradition Minister Meir Porush; Shas leader Arye Deri

Arye Deri and his party threaten Israeli democracy - comment

The Broad Perspective: It is a good thing that this rabbis bill was shot down. I don’t typically give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu much credit, so this is a special occasion.

 ARYE DERI, head of the Shas Party, leads a faction meeting in the Knesset this week.

A coalition in trouble: Israel's government is tumbling down - editorial

It is time to pull the plug on this government and quickly set a date for new elections.

 FINANCE MINISTER Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, and Shas party head MK Arye Deri attend a meeting in the Knesset in May on the state budget.

Religious services minister: Northern burial services preparing for a 'major scenario'

Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli also rejected the idea that Shas would topple a right-wing government it had done everything to create.

 Sgt. Maj. (res.) Eliran Mizrahi's funeral at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on June 13, 2024

Following MK opposition to new 'Rabbis Law,' Netanyahu announces bill out of daily order

Coalition to oust two Likud MKs who oppose the bill from Knesset committee dealing with the bill, which is set to pass its first hurdle in Knesset.

 MK Zvi Sukkot reacts during a conference on the recognition of the State of Palestine at the Knesset, on June 4, 2024

The haredi-IDF train wreck continues to inch along - analysis

Whether the government will fall, manage to stay aloft while continuing to drag out the issue, or whether a compromise will miraculously be reached, remains up in the air.

 Haredi men dressed in traditional ultra-Orthodox garb stand behind a group of religious IDF soldiers

Haredi parties Shas and UTJ announce support for hostage deal

Both of the Knesset's haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, have expressed support for the hostage deal proposed by US President Joe Biden.

 MK ARYE DERI leads a parliamentary faction meeting of his Shas party, in the Knesset, last month.

Population Authority launches new system to request passport extensions online

"We have set a goal of improving service to Israeli citizens." 

 Israeli Interior Minister Rabbi Moshe Arbel (Shas).

Haredi, Harvard, Home Front Command: The enigma of Moshe Arbel

A haredi rabbi, Harvard graduate, law doctoral student, and IDF reservist: Interior Minister Moshe Arbel presents a complex picture.

 Israeli Interior Minister Rabbi Moshe Arbel (Shas).

Mayors demand that gov't drop plan to take over appointments of city rabbis

The 100 mayors who wrote the letter to the Religious Affairs Minister were specifically expressing their opposition to a series of directives published by the Religious Affairs ministry on April 11.

 Arye Deri and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, attend  a Shas Party faction meeting, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on January 23, 2023.