From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Haredi leader: Lapid proves he is driven by hate for ultra-Orthodox
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf denounces Opposition Leader Yair Lapid as a hater of Haredim after Lapid’s Yesh Atid party petitions the High Court of Justice for an “urgent interim injunction” against the transfer of some NIS 1 billion ($314 million) to ultra-Orthodox schools out of what is left of the 2025 state budget.
“Yair Lapid once again proves that the only fuel driving him is hatred of the ultra-Orthodox. The petition to the High Court is yet another attempt to harm the fundamental rights of hundreds of thousands of parents and children whose only sin is their desire to preserve their way of life and the traditions of their forefathers,” says Goldknopf.
“The funds in question have passed all the required professional and legal approvals, and their goal is to correct historical discrimination in the budgeting of exempt institutions and ‘recognized but unofficial’ education.”
Such schools commit to teaching 75 percent of the core curriculum but in practice often do not.
Goldknopf says that his party is “confident that the court will reject this political attempt to interfere in the government’s legitimate budgetary decisions” and says that United Torah Judaism “will continue to stand guard to ensure that every child in Israel receives what they are entitled to, without distinction between sectors.”
“We will not allow Israel’s ultra-Orthodox children to be turned into second-class citizens,” he declares.
The Times of Israel Community.