United Torah Judaism

Bismuth submits controversial haredi draft law outline in bid for Shas return to gov't

The outline of Bismuth’s draft lays out principles under which 50% of the haredi draft cohort will be enlisted within five years and the exemption age will be set at 26.

Ultra orthodox Jewish reserve soldiers of the IDF's Hasmonean Brigade operate in the Gaza Strip on June 26, 2025.
A plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, September 10, 2025.

Knesset to vote on NIS 30 billion increase in defense budget, making cuts to other ministries

MK Moshe Gafni in the Knesset plenum, in Jerusalem, December 4, 2024

Gafni urges Shas to open Sephardi schools, party responds amid renewed discrimination debate

MK Boaz Bismuth at first meeting on new conscription bill since Edelstein ousting on August 12, 2025

‘We want a draft law’: Bismuth leads first meeting on new conscription bill since Edelstein ousting


Bismuth elected FADC head, ousting Edelstein over haredi draft bill

Edelstein, prior to the vote, published for the first time the draft of the conscription law, which was sent to committee members. 

MK Boaz Bismuth attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem July 8, 2025

Netanyahu must decide if he's a leader or follower as his government loses Israel's trust - opinion

Why then does Netanyahu choose to turn his back on the will of the majority, thereby eroding public trust in him and his government?

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at a Knesset debate, July 14, 2025; illustrative.

Goldknopf: Haredim will leave Israel if 'there is no choice' in IDF enlistment

"The Haredim will not change their way of life because there is an army and a war. There is an army, and there are people who will join it," said Goldknopf.

 Yitzhak Goldknopf at the Knesset on March 3, 2025.

Netanyahu's Likud to remove Edelstein from key committee over haredi draft fallout

A replacement for Edelstein on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee may be willing to make concessions that Edelstein was not willing to make, thus allowing the bill to proceed.

 Benjamin Netanyahu and Yuli Edelstein seen at the Knesset on November 4, 2021

Yuli Edelstein stands on principle for crafting conscription law for haredi population - editorial

Yosef’s words reveal the ugly truth behind the ultra-Orthodox parties’ opposition to military service: Is it actually about Torah study or religious obligation?

 Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee MK Yuli Edelstein speaks at the Muni Expo 2025 conference in Tel Aviv, on July 15, 2025.

'We failed, made a mistake' on judicial reform, haredi draft bill deal, UTJ's Goldknopf says

UTJ was told to support the judicial reform as it would allow for a "basic law of Torah study," and another law as an override clause, Yitzhak Goldknopf claimed in an interview with Kikar HaShabbat.

 Yitzhak Goldknopf at a United Torah Judaism meeting at the Knesset, Jerusalem, May 19, 2025.

‘Read my lips this gov't will not fall’: Israeli coalition faces crisis over haredi draft law

As Israel’s ruling coalition fractures over the Haredi Draft bill, religious parties threaten to quit, and pressure mounts from reservists, the government clings to a narrow majority.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen speaking at the Knesset.

Reality check: Ultra-Orthodox rabbis are leading their flock to a historic dead end - opinion

MIDDLE ISRAEL: In their wartime conduct, the ultra-orthodox rabbis show a lack of commitment and a real disconnection with reality.

 "We are at war. Join it! Fully, immediately, to the last of you, like everyone else," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not tell Shas leader Arye Deri.

Israel's post-holiday politics: Will Netanyahu take a political hit to keep coalition intact?

NATIONAL AFFAIRS: With Shas out of the government, Netanyahu faces a decision between taking a hit to maintain the coalition or preparing for the upcoming elections.

Even as Shas followed United Torah Judaism’s lead and declared on Wednesday it was leaving the government, it did so with a major caveat: ‘We are leaving the government, but we are not quitting the coalition.’ Here, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits alongside Shas chairman Arye Deri in 2023.

Israeli gov't no longer has mandate to avoid October 7 state probe, bereaved parents say

“A government that has lost its majority has no mandate to erase the October 7 massacre and bury the truth,” the families concluded.

 Families of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip and activists protest at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, May 5, 2025

Knesset election dynamics largely unchanged despite Shas, UTJ leaving gov't, N12 poll finds

Israel's Channel 12 conducted a poll on general election scenarios following the Sephardi-haredi Shas Party's Wednesday announcement that they are leaving the coalition.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at a Knesset debate, July 14, 2025; illustrative.