Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Religious Zionism minister announces he won’t run in upcoming election
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Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer holds a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem, December 1, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer from the far-right Religious Zionism party announces that he will not run in the upcoming parliamentary election.
“The State of Israel must continue to fortify its security, and erect a solid, cast-iron wall, but also one that is based on values and unity,” he says in a statement, appearing to knock the coalition’s recent efforts to exempt ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from military service.
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