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.

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

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

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'


Knesset votes to freeze arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders amid IDF manpower crisis

Bill passes 58-54 despite legal warnings, IDF opposition • Netanyahu heckled by opposition lawmakers shouting 'disgrace' before leaving plenum ahead of the vote

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Knesset vote on a bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders, in Jerusalem, July 14, 2026

Protesters block Jerusalem roads, target light rail construction site

Police used crowd dispersal measures after protesters blocked roads near Jerusalem’s Bar Ilan Street and refused orders to leave.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men clash with police during a protest against construction work on the Jerusalem Light Rail in the Bar-Ilan area of Jerusalem, June 8, 2026.

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.

‘Direct danger to Israel’s health’: Medical schools deans fight bill pushing for gender segregation

The proposed bill “is a direct danger to the health of the citizens of Israel,” the deans wrote in a public letter shared on Monday.

Doctors at BGU’s Medical School, Assuta Ashdod (Illustrative).

MK Haim Biton questioned over suspected use of public funds to finance private Shas newspaper

He is suspected of using funds from the Ma'ayan HaChinuch HaTorani education network to finance a private Shas-affiliated newspaper while serving as the network’s director-general seven years ago.

Shas MK Haim Biton arrives to a government conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem on January 3, 2023.

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

What’s really happening is a payoff to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) political parties, against the will of an overwhelming majority of Israelis and in direct defiance of the Supreme Court.

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.

Voting rights and PACs: Solutions for the haredi draft evasion problem - opinion

Our soldiers are exhausted. Over half of our reserve soldiers have logged hundreds of days of military duty. We can’t continue to ask them to shoulder the burden alone.

The Knesset House Committee votes to advance the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties' bill that seeks to enshrine Torah Study in the country's Basic Law. June 30, 2026.

Basic Law: Debasing Torah - opinion

The proposed Basic Law: Torah Study would grant constitutional status to Torah study, but in practice it would turn a sacred obligation into a political and legal instrument. That would harm Torah...

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.

Shas spiritual leader appears to open door to Eisenkot government, says Netanyahu ‘won’t repent’

The rare remarks suggested that Shas could potentially be open to joining a government led by Eisenkot, raising questions over the longstanding haredi alliance with Netanyahu's bloc.

Head of Shas party Aryeh Deri and Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef visit at the scene of suspected arson and vandalism at a Jerusalem synagogue which is often frequented by Rabbi Yosef, June 8, 2025.

Knesset panel advances bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders amid legal warnings

The advancement of a bill to freeze the arrests of draft evaders comes after the contentious Basic Law: Torah Study bill advanced last week in the Knesset’s House Committee.

Knesset panel advances bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders, July 12, 2026.