Haredim

Opposition's Knesset dispersal bill fails after Edelstein, haredim reach draft bill agreement

When the opposition called for the vote, Deputy Minister Yaakov Tesler and MK Moshe Roth of Agudat Yisrael voted in favor of dissolving the Knesset.

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen outside his office at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem on June 11, 2025.
 Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein leads a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on May 8, 2025.

Knesset dispersal postponed after agreement between Edelstein, haredi leaders

 A haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jewish man protest against IDF conscription, near Bnei Brak, June 5, 2025

Over 50,000 IDF draft orders to ultra-Orthodox Jews scheduled for July

(L-R): Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen over the backdrop of an explosion in Iran (illustrative)

Netanyahu using Iran tension, threats to try and stop Knesset dispersion vote


Opposition leaders announce they will go through with Knesset dispersal vote

Despite public announcements that they would support the dispersal bill, haredi politicians were slightly more hesitant on Tuesday night as to whether they would follow through on their threat.

 (L-R) Opposition party heads Yair Golan, Avigdor Liberman, Benny Gantz, and Yair Lapid at the Knesset after the firing of former defense minister Yoav Gallant, November 6, 2024.

Over 50,000 draft orders to be sent to yeshiva students this July, A-G announces

The government has sent out draft orders to 24,000 out of the approximately 80,000 eligible haredi men.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest Israeli military draft orders, in Bnei Brak, November 17, 2024

No more excuses: It's time for haredi Jews to serve in the IDF - editorial

Zionism is not a secular ideology to be shunned; it is the modern manifestation of a 2,000-year-old hope. What could be more Torah-true than helping defend Jewish life in the land of our ancestors?

 Haredi men dressed in traditional ultra-Orthodox garb stand behind a group of religious IDF soldiers

Leading rabbi to instruct ultra-Orthodox faction to exit Netanyahu's coalition

Haredi leader hints at coalition exit over IDF draft bill delays, potentially collapsing the government.

 Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, pictured in 2014.

Netanyahu's coalition removes all legislation again amid haredi boycott

The boycott is over the government’s delay in advancing a law that will likely exempt a majority of military-age haredi men from IDF service.

 Seats are overwhelmingly empty during a meeting of the Knesset plenum earlier this year.

A year of empty promises: Edelstein talks, but no draft law yet on haredi enlistment - opinion

MK Yuli Edelstein has spent a year holding talks on ultra-Orthodox enlistment without delivering a draft law, exposing a gap between his rhetoric and real progress.

A group of ultra-Orthodox Jews blocked traffic and the light rail  in Jerusalem demonstrating against a Haredi draft into the IDF. February 26, 2024.

Knesset c'mtee to discuss female soldiers' rights, haredi IDF integration

The session comes as the coalition moves forward with legislation that would regulate exemptions for haredi yeshiva students from mandatory military service.

 Female combat paramedic soldiers, September 24, 2024.

'We’ve crossed a red line': Haredi factions warn of government collapse

“We all enlist, we all fight, and we all sacrifice for the country and a better future,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir declared.

 An illustrative image of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Israeli Jews near a sign for an IDF recruiting office.

Stuart Hershkowitz: The man quietly transforming Jerusalem’s future

At the Table: Stuart Hershkowitz talks to us about his work, which consists of sitting on a myriad of boards, spanning education, philanthropy, community-building, and economic development.

 Stuart Hershkowitz with 'In Jerusalem' Editor Erica Schachne (C) and Noa Amouyal, at Hamigdal cafe at Jerusaem's Tower of David Museum.

Ultra-Orthodox party declares Knesset rebellion until draft bill passes

The announcement was made as an attempt to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to advance with a new bill to regulate haredi IDF service.

 Haredi men are seen protesting the effort to draft ultra-Orthodox Israelis into the IDF.

Politicians cannot attack IDF, haredim must join military, Hagari says

IDF chief Zamir: "Hagari delivered the difficult news and the good news to the public every evening, with courage, sensitivity, and composure."

 L to R: Incoming IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin, Outgoing IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari, at ceremony to mark the change of position, March 27, 2025.