Yeshiva students

Knesset passes contentious haredi-backed bill to enshrine Torah study in Israel's Basic Law

The haredi-backed Basic Law passed its final Knesset votes after weeks of coalition tensions and warnings that it could encourage draft evasion.

MK Yitzhak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism) attends a House committee meeting at the Knesset, July 12, 2026.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at Knesset plenum to vote in favor of Basic: Law Torah Study bill, shaking hands with Degel Hatorah leader MK Moshe Gafni, Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

Israel's hysterical Torah study bill will backfire on the ultra-Orthodox - opinion

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

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

People walk past election posters for the upcoming elections in Jerusalem on October 24, 2022.

Israel cannot afford Netanyahu’s capitulation to haredi demands - editorial


Gov't doing 'everything' to extend yeshiva students exemption from IDF service, Deri says

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri emphasized efforts to extend IDF service exemptions for yeshiva students, citing Torah study's importance amid military needs.

Shas chairman Arye Deri.

'No young man will go to the army': Senior rabbi dissuades yeshiva students from IDF service

This follows rulings made by a number of top rabbis from different ultra-Orthodox groups in July that IDF service was prohibited.

 Rabbi Dov Lando seen during a meeting to discuss the drafting of ultra-Orthodox jews to the IDF in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, April 5, 2024.

Gov’t again defies A-G, aims to continue subsidies for draft-age haredim

Daycare subsidies are economic incentive for ultra-Orthodox men to continue yeshiva despite legal requirement to enlist.

 A group of ultra-Orthodox Jews blocked traffic and the light rail  in Jerusalem demonstrating against a Haredi draft into the IDF. February 26, 2024.

Community benchmarking beneficial for Jewish schools, yeshivas to create culture of trust - opinion

Benchmarking, a practice widely used in the corporate sector, involves comparing an organization’s performance metrics with those of peers or industry standards.

 STUDENTS LEARN at the Seattle Jewish Community School.

Empty yeshiva seats are reflective of Israel's need to rebuild - opinion

This past year has proven how fragile and precious life can be. I owe it to the students who perished to give everything I can to those who now sit in their seats.

 An illustrative image of empty seats.

Sunny Isles: The mayor honored Rabbi Pinto's new Yeshiva with her presence


'Yeshiva students wrote the Matrix': New unbelievable claim from Israeli member of Knesset

During a Channel 14 panel, Likud MK Galit Distel Atbaryan falsely claimed "The Matrix" was written by yeshiva students, sparking backlash.

 Israel Ganz and Minister Galit Distel Atbaryan at the scene of the terror attack near Eli.

Grapevine August 18, 2024: Preserving and promoting Yiddish

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

A man studies in a university library.

WATCH: haredim protest draft at northern recruitment base, 12 arrested

The IDF reported that Border Police successfully kept the protesters away from the base's fences, though the police had to disperse a large number of demonstrators using tear gas.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with police forces outside the IDF Michve Alon base in northern Israel, August 14, 2024

'If the army were without women, we might have been able to discuss it,' senior haredi rabbi says

"Even if there were a haredi brigade, today it would be one way, and tomorrow the another," the rabbi added.

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