Shas

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

The bill seeks to enshrine Torah study in the country’s Basic Law as part of a proposal that critics argue encourages draft evasion and changes the status of yeshiva students who do not serve.

MKS ATTEND a House committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem, on June 16, 2026.
Shas chairman MK Arye Deri attends the State Comptroller elections at the plenum of the Knesset, in Jerusalem, June 3, 2026.

Haredi leaders say they will support Knesset dissolution if no progress made on draft bills

Degel Hatorah leader MK Moshe Gafni in Knesset House Committee meeting, Monday June 22, 2026.

Haredi parties continue to boycott coalition voting over Torah Study bill

Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, during a weekly teaching at the Yazdim synagogue in Jerusalem, on June 7, 2025.

Shas spiritual leader: Iran deal is punishment for draft dodger arrests, A-G is 'wicked woman'


Haredi parties may push elections as Netanyahu loses leverage - analysis

The political alliance that was once considered Netanyahu’s most stable anchor, his exclusive political asset, can no longer be taken for granted.

 Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers, or Yom HaZikaron, at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem April 21, 2026.

'May God kill, destroy the judges,' Yitzhak Yosef denounces ruling restricting Western Wall prayers

Former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef criticizes the High Court’s decision restricting Passover prayers at the Western Wall, calling the judges "heretics" and "Shabbat desecrators."

 Shas spiritual leader and former Sephardic chief rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, seen during a weekly lecture at the Yazdim synagogue in Jerusalem, June 07, 2025; illustrative.

Knesset passes law expanding powers of Israel’s rabbinic courts to arbitrate civil matters

Under the law, rabbinical courts may act as arbitrators only with the consent of all parties.

THE CHIEF RABBINATE’S Supreme Court for Appeals in Jerusalem: Israelis deserve a religious court system that honors both Halacha and human dignity, the writer asserts.

Shas fills local rabbi posts with loyalists, sidelining community choice - opinion

Shas moves quickly to fill rabbinic vacancies, sidelining candidates who fit their cities.

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 advances bill granting Chief Rabbinate authority over Western Wall prayer

The bill passed by a margin of 56-47 and will now be discussed in Knesset committee meetings. It will still need to undergo three more plenum readings to become a law. 

A Jewish woman prays at the Little Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, February 18, 2026

Knesset panel advances bill to expand rabbinical courts’ power over civil matters

Critics have warned of the bill's democratic implications, including those involving women's rights, which may deepen the rift between the haredi and secular communities.

THE RABBINICAL Court’s Division for Agunot in Jerusalem.

High Court: Israeli gov't must explain why it funds haredi schools without core studies

The order, issued in a petition filed by Hiddush, demands that the Education and Finance ministries explain why state funding is not conditioned on the teaching of core-curriculum subjects.

 HAREDI YESHIVA students

Haredi draft bill could trigger 'collapse' of Israel's Right in elections, aliyah minister warns

The aliyah minister asserted in December that he would vote against the proposed haredi draft law even at the risk of being dismissed from the government, calling the current outline "shameful.

Minister of Immigration and Absorption Ofir Sofer holds a press conference at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, December 1, 2025.

Knesset votes to split Arrangements Bill amid haredi parties' threats over state budget

The two parties threatened to vote against the coalition amid disagreements over the controversial haredi draft bill being advanced in the Knesset.

MK's Moshe Gafni and Yitzchak Goldknopf seen during a vote on the state budget at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, January 28, 2026.

State to High Court: Education data on haredi core studies incomplete, disputes A-G’s framing

At the January hearing, the High Court ordered the state to submit all documents in its possession relating to core-curriculum instruction in the networks.

 HAREDI YESHIVA students