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Thursday, February 26, 2026
Likud warned of infiltration by activists from Haredi parties
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"
Writing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud party’s ultra-Orthodox wing warns that activists affiliated with the Knesset’s Haredi factions are infiltrating their movement in an effort to unduly influence the party from the inside.
The letter cites recent reporting about what it describes as an organized effort by members of outside parties to join Likud “who do not seek to integrate [into it] as an ideological movement but rather to misdirect its elected officials, harm its leader, cunningly insert representatives on their behalf through internal elections, take control of its institutions, and continue to support and operate politically in other parties.”
It calls on Netanyahu to establish “filtering mechanisms” to “ensure that Likud activists are actual supporters of the movement” and are not acting on behalf of other parties.
Spokespeople for Likud and the ultra-Orthodox Shas, Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael factions do not immediately reply to The Times of Israel’s requests for comment. Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael comprise the larger United Torah Judaism party.
Last August, Channel 12 reported that thousands of ultra-Orthodox voters had joined the Likud party as part of a bid to directly influence the workings of Israel’s ruling faction.
The share of Haredi members in Likud, Israel’s largest party and one of only a handful to hold primaries for its electoral slate, has tripled while the party’s liberal wing has shrunk, the network reported.
The increase in Haredi membership is likely tied to efforts to pass a bill exempting yeshiva students from military service. While Netanyahu’s party supports the bill, the current version of which was drafted by party MK Boaz Bismuth, dissension within Likud threatens to hamper its passage.
The Times of Israel Community.