From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 7, 2025
Newspapers affiliated with Haredi parties declare ‘war’ over IDF draft after arrests
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. 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"
Mouthpieces for the ultra-Orthodox Shas and Degel Hatorah parties declare war on efforts to enforce the military draft this morning, following the arrests of two yeshiva students in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
A stark banner headline on the front page of Yated Neeman, an organ of the Degel HaTorah faction of the United Torah Judaism party, simply reads “war” in large white letters against a black background.
The paper accuses Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of “leading a draconian campaign” in an effort “to push the state authorities into an irreversible clash with Torah-observant Haredi Judaism,” adding that efforts to enforce the law against draft evaders had crossed a “red line.”
Shas and UTJ are the forefront of a fight to pass legislation legalizing de facto military draft exemptions enjoyed by the ultra-Orthodox community for decades, after the arrangement was struck down by the High Court, prompting the army to begin sending out and enforcing draft orders.
“A war for God: the Torah world is preparing for a determined and unprecedented struggle,” declares the banner headline in Shas’ HaDerech newspaper, in bold white text against a blood-red background.
The paper describes the Haredi community’s “fury and disgust” at the “contemptible” actions of the military leadership, which it says is being pressured by the attorney general and High Court.
Members of Shas’s ruling Council of Torah Sages are engaged in discussions “to decide on the methods of struggle ahead of the determined campaign that will shock the entire world,” it says.
“We will fight with dedication for every yeshiva student, we will not give up on anyone, all members of Haredi Judaism must prepare for the great campaign,” the paper quotes senior rabbis as saying.
Hamevaser, widely considered a mouthpiece for MK Meir Porush of the Agudat Yisrael political faction that makes up the other half of UTJ, rails against the “conscription decree” in a front-page article quoting a verse from the Passover Hagaddah stating that God saves the Jewish people when, in every generation, an enemy arises to destroy them.
“Two brothers were arrested in the dead of night from their home and sent to prison for simply studying Torah,” the newspaper states, adding that “this is no longer theoretical, this is a war.”
“We need to be prepared for the most far-reaching steps to protect the world of Torah,” the paper quotes Porush as saying. He insists that a message must be sent that “harming the Torah of Israel is a declaration of war against 1.39 million Haredi citizens.”
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