Haredi

Haredi conscription debate threatens long-standing Israeli coalitions - opinion

Ultra-Orthodox parties face mounting political backlash as Israel’s war strains the reserve system and coalition stability.

 Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with police outside the IDF Recruitment Center at Tel Hashomer, central Israel, April 28, 2025
 THE NEW ‘ohel’ built over the grave of the Baal Shem Tov.

Inside the sacred resting place of the Baal Shem Tov in Medzhybizh

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu speaks alongside former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban in Budapest last year. Orban transformed Hungary into a quasi-autocracy, while Netanyahu has not achieved the same in Israel, the writer says.

Are new Knesset proposals pushing Israel toward Hungary-style governance? - opinion

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men protest against the jailing of seminary students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order outside the home of Military Police commander Brig. Gen. Yuval Yamin in Ashkelon, May 14, 2026.

Ultra-Orthodox protesters attempt to invade military police chief's home


Rabbi Uri Lupolianski, first haredi mayor of Jerusalem and Yad Sarah founder, dies at 74

He served as mayor of Jerusalem from 2003 to 2008, becoming the first haredi (ultra-Orthodox) politician elected to the role.

 Former Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski is greeted by supporters as he arrives to Yad Sarah foundation in Jerusalem. Lupolianski, founder of the Yad Sarah, the largest national volunteer organization in Israel. December 29, 2015.

Court extends detention of bus driver who rammed into ultra-Orthodox protesters

The court ordered the suspect held until January 15 to allow investigators to complete inquiries into the circumstances of the incident.

Signs from mass haredi protest against draft law in Jerusalem, January 6, 2026.

Bus driver rams into ultra-Orthodox protesters in Jerusalem, 14-year-old killed

Thousands of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protesters gathered in Israel's capital on Tuesday evening • Driver arrested after killing one, injuring three others • Shas: "Haredi blood is not cheap."

Security and rescue forces are seen at the scene where a teenager was killed and three others were injured after being hit by a bus in Jerusalem, January 6, 2026

From yellow badges to ‘extermination ovens’: Toxic rhetoric of haredi draft protests - editorial

The latest affront occurred on Sunday when UTJ chairperson Yitzhak Goldknopf compared enforcing yeshiva students’ conscription to “placing a yellow badge on them.”

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

Shas threatens to vote down 2026 state budget if haredi draft law not passed

Without the support of Shas lawmakers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government could lack the votes needed to pass the budget.

 Shas faction meeting in the Israeli parliament on December 8, 2025.

Ultra-Orthodox protests erupt across Israel on haredi IDF enlistment day

Disturbances occurred when protesters attempted to block vehicles by lying on the roadway in Kiryat Ono, Israel Police said.

Ultra-Orthodox protests erupt across Israel on haredi IDF enlistment day

IDF's haredi Hashmonaim Brigade completes first operational activity in southern Syria

Also on Thursday, soldiers of the IDF's Brigade 636 killed a terrorist who threw stones at them near the village of Luban al-Sharqiyya in the West Bank during an overnight ambush.

Soldiers of the Hashmonaim Brigade complete first operational activity in southern Syria, January 1, 2026.

High Court to hear two cases blocking haredi education funds amid legal disputes

Supreme Court Justice Yael Willner ordered that hearings in both cases be held by January 8, and instructed the parties to submit preliminary responses up to 24 hours beforehand.

Supreme Court justices preside over a hearing at the High Court of Justice in Jerusalem, December 1, 2025

High Court freezes NIS 1b. haredi education transfer over recovery concerns

The petition was filed by opposition head and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, together with party lawmakers, against budget transfers approved by the Knesset Finance Committee.

Haredi protesters block Highway 4 near Bnei Brak during a protest denouncing the IDF draft, December 28, 2025.

Haredi Peleg Yerushalmi protest blocks Highway 4, police attempt to disperse anti-draft activists

Members of the Peleg Yerushalmi anti-IDF draft group blocked Highway 4 near Bnei Brak, as Border Police moved to disperse demonstrators and reopen the road.

Haredi protesters block Highway 4 near Bnei Brak during a protest denouncing the IDF draft, December 28, 2025.