Draft

Knesset passes in first reading bill to enshrine Torah study into Basic Law

The wording in the proposal emphasizes Torah study as “a fundamental value in the heritage of the Jewish people and in the State of Israel.”

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.
A haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protester argues with a police officer outside the Jerusalem IDF recruitment center, April 12, 2026.

Former haredim overlooked in draft debate, underrepresented in workforce, report finds

Protesters supporting the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the Israeli military block a road in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, central Israel, in protest against the continued road blockades by ultra-Orthodox demonstrators following the arrest of draft evaders, June 26, 2026.

Ultra-Orthodox party paralyzes Knesset votes to force through military draft exemptions

MKS ATTEND a House committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem, on June 16, 2026.

Marathon Knesset meetings set to rapidly advance haredi parties’ contentious Torah study bill


Bismuth's haredi draft bill advances in heated Knesset panel, lawmakers call it 'not nearly enough'

The continued discussions on the bill come after the chairperson of the committee, MK Boaz Bismuth (Likud), laid out his updated version of the legislation to the panel on Monday. 

Protests against haredi draft begins in Jerusalem, October 30, 2025.

Israel's government must explain lack of valid draft policy for Arabs, High Court demands

The state was given until March 1 to file a detailed response and clarify “why no recruitment policy is being set for Arab citizens and residents of Israel under the General Security Service Law."

Arab Israelis protest against the war in Gaza in the northern Arab city of Sakhnin, holding empty bowls and signs calling attention to the humanitarian crisis, July 25, 2025

WATCH: Haredi protesters set fires, block roads, throw stones at police officers, in Beit Shemesh

Haredi demonstrators rioted in Beit Shemesh, blocking buses and throwing stones, as police units moved in to disperse the crowd.

Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protesters gather in Mea She'arim, Jerusalem, to celebrate draft dodgers' release from miiltary prison, November 30, 2025; illustrative.

Israel's haredi draft crisis: Court ruling and political stalemate reach breaking point - analysis

Israel's haredi draft crisis intensifies as court ruling forces action, while political divisions and protests make it difficult to see a path forward.

 Haredim protest against the IDF draft outside Tel Hashomer recruitment base, April 28. 2025.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders give haredi factions green light to advance IDF draft bill

The past week has seen violence from within the haredi community from extremists who are against a law that would require army enlistment from members of the community.

 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.

No more splinters: Israel can no longer fund its own vilification by haredim - opinion

The haredi protest, which took place last week, displayed the 'parisitism dressed up as piety' rampant in the haredi institutions which take public funding but revile the IDF

Masses attend ‘The cry of the Torah’ demonstration in Jerusalem last month. What took place was not holiness; it was hypocrisy, the writer charges.

Struggle for identity: Haredi demonstration reflect a quest for unity - opinion

The goal of demonstrations in general, and mass demonstrations in particular, is to mold the identity of the individual and to strengthen identification with the group and its goals.

THE MASSES attend ‘The cry of the Torah’ demonstration in Jerusalem last Thursday. This time, it seems that the main reason for holding the demonstration was actually intra-haredi, the writer maintains.

Refusing to serve divides society: How haredi draft dodging harms Israel - opinion

Haredi communities who so forcefully asserted themselves in the city did not just make a statement about the draft, but about their relationship with the very country they call home.

Haredi protesters against the IDF draft demonstrate in Jerusalem on October 30, 2025.

Netanyahu halts meetings on haredi draft bill, sparking opposition fury

The first discussion to present the outline of the newly updated bill had been slated for Monday.

MK Boaz Bismuth, chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee leads a committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem, September 17, 2025.

The haredi draft dodging farce to continue until we who pay the price say 'enough!' - editorial

The threat of revoking the right of haredim to vote might be extreme, but sanctions, budget cuts, and hitting them where it hurts – in the pocketbook – are not.

Haredi men attend a protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with IDF draft orders in Mea She'arim, Jerusalem, October 22, 2025.