Ultra-Orthodox

Israel's ultra-Orthodox community can no longer avoid the hard conversations - opinion

The haredi community has the numbers, the talent, and the values to lift this country into a new and bright future; we cannot be the ones to drag it down.

Moti Leitner, deputy mayor of Beit Shemesh and founder of the Haredi Public Party, at the ‘Jerusalem Post’ studio, August 11, 2026
Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, government ministers and members of Knesset attend a plenum session and a vote on a bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, July 14, 2026.

Haredi parties plan to remain outside government coalition until draft law is resolved

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters set fire to construction materials during a protest against construction work on the Jerusalem Light Rail in the Bar-Ilan area of Jerusalem, June 8, 2026.

WATCH: Haredi protest against light rail construction erupts on Jerusalem's Bar-Ilan Street

An ultra-Orthodox man blows a shofar ahead of Rosh Hashanah in Mea She’arim in Jerusalem in August

Cutting support for Haredi families would weaken Israel’s demographic resilience, economy - opinion


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.

Police officer seen assaulting haredim at draft protest released after questioning

The officer was released without restrictions. The investigation was initiated last week, as several videos were circulated around social media showing the assaults.

Haredi protests begin across Israel, June 24, 2026.

WATCH: Police arrest two suspected of pulling gun, threatening haredi protesters blocking Highway 1

Jerusalem police arrested two suspects after a video surfaced showing an alleged firearm threat toward Haredi protesters blocking Highway 1.

A haredi (ultra-Orthodox) man looks on as protesters form a convoy blocking Highway 1 west of Jerusalem, June 24, 2026; illustrative.

The breaking point: How haredi draft evasion laws are tearing Israel apart - opinion

The worldview of the current haredi political leadership is dangerous to society. It is based on extorting the political system to achieve huge budgets.

Ultra-Orthodox (haredi) Jewish men block Highway 1 near Ein Hemed as they rally against the imprisonment of yeshiva students who failed to comply with IDF draft orders, on June 24, 2026.

Following hours of haredi draft protests, Israeli highways reopen to traffic

Protests cause heavy traffic on 29 major roads • Social media footage shows protesters and secular citizens in violent physical altercations • MKs Goldknopf, Malkieli attended protests

A haredi man looks on as traffic builds at Hemed Interchange on Highway 1 amid ultra-Orthadox anti-draft protests, June 24, 2026.

Haredi parties continue to boycott coalition voting over Torah Study bill

Shas Party leader Arye Deri also attributed the boycott of coalition voting to the recent rise in police arrests of haredi draft evaders.

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

'Release Sohlberg's hostages': Soldiers, haredi protesters clash outside of Military Prison 10

Sohlberg has become a focal point of such protests following his order to increase arrests of draft evaders, the peak of which took place on June 3, when a haredi riot broke out outside of his home.

Motti Babchik and thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men protest outside Military Prison 10 near Kfar Yona, central Israel, against the jailing of seminary students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order, June 17, 2026.

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

"Trump turned against us because of the decrees being imposed on Torah scholars and because they are being arrested,” Yosef said.

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

Ultra-Orthodox protesters block traffic, set fire on road near Jerusalem's Shabbat Square

On Thursday evening, light rail service was partially suspended between Jerusalem’s central bus station and Mount Herzl station due to haredi protests.

Israel Police responding to haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protest near Shabbat Square in Jerusaelm, June 19, 2026.

Israel's haredi divide has become a test of national unity - opinion

Israel's haredi crisis is about more than military service; it's a test of shared responsibility and national cohesion.

HAREDI DEMONSTRATORS protest in Jerusalem on July 23, 2025.