Haredi

Why Gadi Eisenkot is rejecting the haredi political embrace that once helped Netanyahu win

POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Yitzhak Yosef’s embrace – and Eisenkot's effort to distance himself from it – reflects Israel's shifting political landscape.

|ByHERB KEINON
Amid reports that the Shas Party could be willing to sit with him in government, Yashar Party head Gadi Eisenkot did not rule out that option entirely. Here, Eisenkot attends the Sagi Laws for Equality Confrence at the Peres Center in Jaffa earlier this week.
MK Yisrael Eichler seen at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem, on January 19, 2026.

Grapevine July 17, 2026: Birds of a feather

Movers and shakers of Israeli society.

|ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi are seen in the Knesset plenum during a vote on the minister's communications reform, in Jerusalem, July 16, 2026

Netanyahu's coalition falls to 48 seats, opposition gets 62 seats after legislative blitz - poll

The poll found that 83% of voters oppose the inclusion of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties in the coalition that is formed after the elections, while only 8% support it.

|ByMOSHE COHEN
A vote at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2026.

Knesset passes bill to extend mandatory military service to 32 months to 'meet IDF's goals'

The passage of the bill comes amid the coalition's legislative blitz before the Knesset recesses ahead of the upcoming elections. Forty-three MKs voted in favor, with 12 against and one abstention.

|ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM

What are some of the main laws pushed during Knesset's legislative blitz? - explainer

Four major bills passed during the Knesset’s final blitz, with implications for the IDF, the judiciary, state benefits and press freedom.

JULY 16, 2026BySHIR PERETS, KESHET NEEV
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana oversees votes on Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi's communications sector reform bill, July 16, 2026.

High Court names nine-justice panel to hear petitions on law halting arrest of haredi draft dodgers

The dispute comes after a succession of increasingly forceful High Court judgments on inequality in military service and the government’s failure to enforce the existing draft law.

JULY 16, 2026BySARAH BEN-NUN
President of the Supreme Court Isaac Amit arrives for a hearing on petitions alleging flaws in the legislative process of the Communications Bill at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, July 13, 2026.

Are there other lessons from October 7? - opinion

The October 7 massacre fell on 22 Tishrei – Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, two days that signify the highest joy: one completing the festival of Sukkot, the other our rejoicing in the Torah itself

JULY 16, 2026ByELIYAHU HADDAD
Rabbi Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi delivers a torah lesson at Ateret Yisrael Yeshiva in Jerusalem, November 19, 2019.

Ultra-Orthodox protesters block Israel's Highway 4, call police 'antisemites,' injure one officer

The highway was closed between the Aluf Sade Interchange, south of Ramat Gan, and the Em Hamoshavot Interchange, north of Bnei Brak, police added.

JULY 16, 2026ByJAMES GENN
Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) children hold a sign reading that "Ir was better to die as a Jew in the Holocaust than to spiritually die in IDF camps," at a protest on Highway 4 near Bnei Brak, July 16, 2026.

Shas leader Arye Deri accuses IDF chief of 'helping the Left' with ultra-Orthodox draft stance

Deri on Zamir: 'He has lost it. What the chief of staff did... was an attempt to help the left-wing bloc' • PM hopefuls Bennett, Eisenkot swiftly condemn Shas leader's attack on IDF chief

JULY 16, 2026ByKESHET NEEV
Shas chairman MK Arye Deri attends the State Comptroller elections at the plenum of the Knesset, in Jerusalem, June 3, 2026.

Haredi women, academics file petition against Israel's new gender-segregated education law

The petition was filed hours after the Knesset approved an amendment to the law which expressly allows the Council for Higher Education to approve separate programs for men and women.

JULY 16, 2026BySARAH BEN-NUN
Activists protest against a bill promoting gender-segregated academic study tracks, introduced by MK Limor Son Har-Melech, outside the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, July 6, 2026.

Knesset approves gender-segregated graduate degree programs in late-night vote

The legislation, Amendment No. 12, 2026, was sponsored by MK Limor Son Har Melech and passed by a vote of 52-43.

JULY 16, 2026ByNAHUM PERRY
MK Limor Son Har-Melech reacts during a National Security committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament on March 5, 2024; illustrative.

Ultra-Orthodox protesters block roads demanding end to IDF recruitment

Some protesters were seen holding signs asking US President Donald Trump to "save" the haredis from being recruited.

JULY 15, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Haredi protesters holding signs asking US President Donald Trump to save them from being drafted, July 15, 2026.

When Shabbat becomes a battleground - opinion

I sat on my balcony watching around 50 haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men and children harass a new cafe’s patrons and staff in Jerusalem’s city center, angry that it was operating on Shabbat.

JULY 14, 2026ByATARA RUDERMAN
POLICE ARE seen dragging an ultra-Orthodox protester away during a demonstration against a cafe operating on Shabbat while secular protesters demonstrate in support of the cafe in central Jerusalem, on July 11, 2026.

Bnei Brak set to become Israel's first city with gender-segregated streets, municipality announces

The municipality issued a statement in response to the report, saying that the decision came after a letter from the city's rabbis, while it also said that it could be further expanded in the future.

JULY 14, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Ladies in Bnei Brak watching as the men leave to protest outsidem of Military Prison 10 on June 24, 2026.