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Haredim

Adir Schwartz talks with Jerusalem municipality inspectors as they shut down a temporary cafe set up by the Hitorerut movement in central Jerusalem after Cafe Basimta closed following weeks of protests by ultra-Orthodox extremists (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
September 5, 2026, 2:21 pm
Jerusalem municipality shuts down Shabbat coffee stand near cafe that caved to Haredi protests
Inspector tells volunteers from Hitorerut that they ‘received orders from higher up’ to close stall; head of liberal group: ‘Violence closed Cafe Basimta, but failed to close Jerusalem’
By ToI Staff
Protesters hold a counter-demonstration in support of the Basimta cafe in central Jerusalem, August 29, 2026. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)
September 4, 2026, 5:56 pm
Activists set to open Shabbat coffee truck at site where Jerusalem cafe buckled to Haredi protests
Organizers vow to oppose religious coercion, say that the cart will be operated by volunteers next to the cafe so that ‘Jerusalemites can continue to drink coffee on Shabbat’
By ToI Staff
Political correspondent Sam Sokol appears on the Daily Briefing with host Jessica Steinberg (Flash 90)
August 31, 2026, 1:39 pm
Daily Briefing Aug. 31: Splinter parties jockey for position as election deadline looms
Political correspondent Sam Sokol discusses ‘third bloc’ political parties ahead of September 8 deadline for forming slates, and the new ultra-Orthodox party, The Charedi Public
By Jessica Steinberg and Sam Sokol
Illustrative: Israeli policemen stand by as ultra-Orthodox Jewish men block a road during a protest against conscription into the Israeli army in Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv on August 24, 2026. (ilia YEFIMOVICH/AFP)
August 28, 2026, 5:00 pm
Dozens of ultra-Orthodox men block highway in West Bank after draft-dodger’s arrest
Suspect, a yeshiva student in his 20s from Ashdod, was initially stopped for driving a stolen vehicle
By ToI Staff
Israeli reserve soldiers seen during military training in the Golan Heights, northern Israel, October 30, 2023. (David Cohen/ Flash90)
August 25, 2026, 9:59 pm
Wartime reserve duty taking heavier toll on economy than expected, Treasury warns
Month of reserve duty costs the state an average NIS 53,000 per soldier and falls mainly on non-Haredi Jewish men aged 25-44, who tend to earn more and have children, report shows
By Sharon Wrobel
MK Yitzhak Goldknopf, center, alongside Likud's Justice Minister Yariv Levin, left, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, right, during a Knesset vote on a bill to freeze arrests of Haredi draft evaders in Jerusalem, July 14, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
July 16, 2026, 4:50 pm
Pyrrhic victory on law banning arrests of draft dodgers could cost Netanyahu coalition at ballot box
Likud and its allies went to mat for an unpopular law meant to shield ultra-Orthodox from military conscription, losing vital support in the name of legislation that is already on its way to being struck down
By Tal Schneider
Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer holds a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem, December 1, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
July 15, 2026, 8:02 pm
Right-wing minister critical of Haredi draft exemption efforts says won’t seek reelection
Religious Zionism’s Ofir Sofer said leaving politics over coalition’s efforts to okay exemptions for Yeshiva students, day after Knesset passed law to halt arrests of draft evaders
By ToI Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (foreground) walks past ultra-Orthodox MKs as the Knesset prepares to pass a law banning the arrests of draft dodgers that will effectively freeze ultra-Orthodox enlistment into the IDF for at least the next seven months, July 14, 2026. Netanyahu left the chamber before the vote itself. At center, with hands around his mouth, is UTJ MK Meir Porush. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
July 14, 2026, 8:28 pm
Knesset passes law banning arrests of Haredi draft dodgers, legitimizing ongoing mass non-enlistment
Petitions against law filed to High Court; deputy minister quits in protest; Netanyahu skips vote, is denounced as ‘traitor’ by opposition MK; all ultra-Orthodox MKs proudly acknowledge they have relatives who could benefit from the law
By Ariela Karmel, Jeremy Sharon and Charlie Summers
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Eyal Zamir (center) monitors Israeli strikes on Iran from the IAF war room on June 8, 2026. (IDF)
June 24, 2026, 4:27 pm
IDF chief to rabbis: We’re short thousands of troops, need female combat soldiers
In meeting with religious Zionist leaders angry over women’s inclusion in tank crews, Zamir says integration is ‘of tremendous operational importance’
By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
Illustrative: Men arguing in Beit Shemesh, October 2013. (Yaakov Lederman/Flash 90)
May 1, 2026, 5:59 am
Separate cities or shared space? Ministries at odds over huge Negev housing plan for Haredim
As the ultra-Orthodox population surges, plans for three major new cities in the south highlight a growing divide over integration, economics and the future of Haredi life
By Zev Stub
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with army recruitment orders in the Mea She’arim neighborhood of Jerusalem, October 22, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
April 26, 2026, 6:35 pm
High Court orders government to impose financial sanctions on Haredi draft evaders
In unanimous decision, court says government has failed to implement previous rulings, calls police refusal to arrest ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers an ‘unacceptable mass violation of law’
By Jeremy Sharon
Ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students learn at the Ateret Shlomo Yeshiva, in Rishon Lezion on June 11, 2025. (Shlomi Cohen/Flash90)
February 10, 2026, 11:30 pm
By 2050, almost one in four Israelis will be ultra-Orthodox, study indicates
Haredim constitute 23.5% of those eligible for military, which expected to rise to 40% by 2050, says Israel Democracy Institute; if Haredim don’t integrate, GDP could fall by 10%
By Rossella Tercatin
Ultra-Orthodox people protest against IDF recruitment in Jerusalem, January 6, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
January 7, 2026, 1:24 pm
Daily Briefing Jan. 7: Day 824 – Chaos and death at a Haredi anti-IDF protest
Political correspondent Sam Sokol discusses the tragic end of a raucous, extreme demonstration in Jerusalem against military conscription of the ultra-Orthodox
By Jessica Steinberg and Sam Sokol
Illustrative: A baby receives a routine vaccine. (naumoid; iStock by Getty Images)
November 25, 2025, 4:57 pm
Amid measles outbreak, study finds skepticism of routine vaccines soared during COVID
Bar-Ilan researcher finds that 6.6% of parents who vaccinated an older child before the pandemic chose not to vaccinate a younger child; ‘enough to trigger’ current outbreak
By Diana Bletter
Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest against conscription into the Israel Defense Forces, in Jerusalem on October 30, 2025. (Eli Katzoff/The Times of Israel)
October 30, 2025, 11:37 pm
Ultra-Orthodox fight against IDF service
On October 30, 2025, some 200,000 Haredi men flood Jerusalem in protest against conscription into the IDF, clashing with police
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