Haredi

'We do whatever they say': Yeshiva students defer to rabbis over response to IDF draft enforcement

When a group of young men was asked whether some yeshiva students wanted to enlist but refrained because their rabbis forbade it, several agreed, with one answering, “of course.”

Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews attend an election rally organized by the United Torah Judaism party in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, central Israel, two days ahead of Israel’s general elections, October 25, 2026.
OPPOSITION LEADER Yair Lapid and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett attend an election event for the joint list “Together” ahead of the upcoming elections, in Tel Aviv, central Israel, May 12, 2026.

Undecided voters should take a closer look at Bennett’s B’Yachad - opinion

People participate in a street poll ahead of the election, in Mahaneh Yehuda last week.

Israel’s election: Which parties are most likely to keep their promises? - opinion

Israeli settlers next to a fire amid clashes with Palestinians during olive harvest in Abu Falah near Ramallah in the West Bank, October 16, 2026.

Settler violence is a political blind spot in Israel’s election campaign - opinion


Haredi Public's Moti Leitner: Israel’s future is our responsibility, too - opinion

A community must prepare its children for the lives ahead, enable its families to achieve economic independence, and accept its share of responsibility for defending the country.

Moti Leitner, chairman of the Haredi Public Party, holds a press conference at the party’s election campaign headquarters in Neve Ilan, ahead of Israel’s upcoming general elections, October 21, 2026.

'We will get them': Haredi Public Party leader vows to help fill IDF manpower shortage

Moti Leitner says his Haredi Public Party is gaining support despite pressure to withdraw, and insists haredi men who do not study Torah should enlist.

Moti Leitner, chairman of the Haredi Public party, party members and supporters attend the launch of the party’s election campaign ahead of the upcoming Israeli general elections in Beit Shemesh, August 23, 2026.

Israel’s election campaign lacks substance, fresh leadership, and vision - opinion

From national security to the haredi draft, Israel’s most pressing challenges have received little serious attention from candidates seeking to lead the country.

Voters casting ballots in Israel's 25th Knesset election

Yoaz Hendel: Reservists are the key to breaking Israel’s political deadlock - opinion

We cannot go backward – we cannot afford more rounds of elections or to abandon the prospect of change. Voting for “the largest party” is effectively a vote for yet another election.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walk near an electoral banner for the Reservist-Economic Party  led by Yoaz Hendel (R) and Yaron Zelekha (L) in Bnei Barak, near Tel Aviv, October 18, 2026

Israel’s election must be about repairing society after October 7 - opinion

The silent majority of the Israeli public must step up and choose tikkun – the repair of society to make it better – and ensure that our heroic soldiers will not have died in vain.

(Illustrative) A man casts his ballot at a voting station on the morning of the municipal elections, in Ashdod, February 27, 2024

Haredi protesters block Highway 4 near Ra'anana, Kfar Saba over draft dodger arrest

Police have deemed the demonstration illegal and are on the scene directing traffic to alternative routes, clearing the road, and restoring public order.

Ultra-Orthodox protester holding a sign reading "Either Haredi or the army" during an anti-draft protest on Highway 4, October 8, 2026.

IDF detains 42 Chabad Hassidic draft evaders arriving from New York at Ben-Gurion Airport

Of the 42, 40 expressed willingness to enlist and were found fit for military service, while 2 were found to have dodged the draft for an extended period and were sent directly to a military prison.

Members of the Chabad community at Ben-Gurion Airport, October 20, 2026.

Netanyahu: Arrests of haredi draft evaders 'unacceptable,' undermine IDF enlistment efforts

"This is unacceptable. We need to preserve the world of Torah study because it has preserved us," the prime minister told Kol Barama during a Tuesday morning radio interview.

Prime Minister and Likud party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu visits supporters in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, ahead of Israel’s upcoming general elections, October 14, 2026

Stun grenades, water cannon deployed to disperse haredi protesters blocking Highway 4 near Yavne

The highway was reopened to traffic after about two hours of protests, which were sparked by the arrests of two IDF draft evaders over the weekend.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men clash with police officers and civilians as they block a road during a protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order, at the Yavne Interchange on Route 4, October 18, 2026.

Israel picks between 'secular democracy or theocracy' in election, chess master Garry Kasparov says

"Just as Abraham Lincoln observed that the government could not persist 'half slave and half free,' Israel cannot go on half theocratic and half secular," Kasparov, whose father was Jewish, said.

Israel’s election campaign is gathering pace, with the country’s political parties competing over the questions of security, leadership and the direction Israel takes after three years of war.