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Boaz Bismuth

Likud MK Boaz Bismuth leads a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting in Knesset, Jerusalem, July 1, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
July 1, 2026, 5:25 pm
Likud MK Bismuth warns of ‘domestic interference’ in elections, points at High Court
Summoning Shin Bet chief, Knesset defense committee chair says justices’ decision to freeze comptroller appointment due to suspected tainted vote could become ‘a slippery slope’
By Ariela Karmel and ToI Staff
MK Boaz Bismuth leads a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, February 24, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
June 28, 2026, 9:19 pm
Knesset panel to advance measure freezing arrests of Haredi draft evaders for 90 days
Foreign affairs and defense panel chair makes announcement amid bid to end Haredi boycott of coalition; opposition slams bill equating Torah study, IDF service
By Ariela Karmel, Sam Sokol and ToI Staff
Screen capture from video of Shimon Riklin during a broadcast on Channel 14, May 18, 2026. (X)
May 19, 2026, 11:37 am
Uproar after Channel 14 anchor talks about Iran strategy without censor approval
Lawmakers call for Knesset defense committee to hold urgent meeting on Shimon Riklin, anchor at pro-Netanyahu channel, who spoke on air about dealing with highly enriched uranium
By ToI Staff
Rabbi Dov Lando casts his vote at a voting station on the morning of the Municipal Elections, in Bnei Brak, on February 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90/ File)
May 13, 2026, 9:30 am
Ultra-Orthodox parties break with Netanyahu but know they have nowhere else to go
Despite Rabbi Lando’s ultimatum and anger over the draft law, any talk of a historic alliance with the center-left is baseless, as the Haredi factions rightly fear losing their voters
By Shalom Yerushalmi
MK Boaz Bismuth leads a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, February 24, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
March 31, 2026, 11:39 am
Coalition to advance ultra-Orthodox draft exemption bill after pause due to Iran war
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair Bismuth says work will resume on the controversial legislation when war ends, after IDF chief warned cabinet that manpower shortages risk army’s ‘collapse’
By ToI Staff
A masked soldier, identified as Meir, looks at the camera as he opens the door of the car where CNN correspondent Jeremy Diamond, left, sits detained in the northern West Bank village of Tayasir, March 26, 2026. (Screen capture: CNN)
March 30, 2026, 12:33 pm
IDF chief: Detention, alleged assault of CNN crew in West Bank ‘grave ethical incident’
Reservist who made far-right remarks during incident expected to be dismissed; head of Knesset defense committee slams Zamir for removing battalion from West Bank service
By Emanuel Fabian
MK Boaz Bismuth chairs a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, January 27, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
January 28, 2026, 3:52 am
Likud MK says legislation regulating Haredi enlistment is ready for committee vote
‘We are reaching the finish line,’ boasts Boaz Bismuth, urging fellow lawmakers to pass controversial bill in its final two readings despite objections of IDF brass, AG and others
By Sam Sokol
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks at the 'Leaders on the Home Front' conference in central Israel, January 6, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
January 19, 2026, 11:45 pm
IDF chief warns PM, Katz that manpower shortage harming army’s preparedness
Letter from Zamir to Netanyahu and other officials comes as government works to pass a bill enshrining blanket exemptions from military conscription for Haredi men
By Lazar Berman, Emanuel Fabian, Sam Sokol and ToI Staff
United Nations and Red Crescent workers prepare the aid for distribution to Palestinians at UNRWA warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Hassan Eslaiah, File)
December 29, 2025, 7:58 pm
Knesset passes law blocking provision of electricity and water to UNRWA facilities
Israel has alleged that more than 10 percent of the UN Palestinian refugee agency’s staff in Gaza have ties to terror groups
By Sam Sokol
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara at a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, September 30, 2025. (Oren Ben Hakoon/ Flash90)
December 11, 2025, 1:56 am
AG pans ultra-Orthodox conscription law, warns it will disincentivize enlistment
Baharav-Miara writes in position paper that proposal would fail to alleviate burden on reservists or meet IDF’s needs, prompting angry responses from bill’s author and Haredi parties
By Jeremy Sharon and Sam Sokol
Activists protest outside a court hearing in the trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, calling not to grant him a pardon, December 1, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
December 5, 2025, 11:54 am
Poll: Majority of Israelis oppose pardon for Netanyahu without an admission of guilt
Only 24.8% support Haredi draft-exemption bill in current state; opposition ticks up in separate survey, but it would still need to include an Arab party to form a government
By ToI Staff
Ultra-Orthodox Jews from the Ponevezh Yeshiva gather in a study hall in Bnei Brak, November 19, 2025. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)
December 4, 2025, 5:39 pm
Legally iffy and loophole-laden, new Haredi draft bill a recruitment boon… for yeshivas
Legislation will not raise number of ultra-Orthodox joining army, but will incentivize enlistment in religious schools and working on the sly or staying poor, critics say
By Sam Sokol
Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, head of the IDF Personnel Directorate's Planning and Personnel Management Division (right), speaks at a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting, December 2, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
December 2, 2025, 8:29 pm
IDF personnel head: We can absorb any number of Haredi recruits if given advance warning
Some coalition MKs said to face threats of punishment if they keep speaking out against draft exemption bill; Likud MK bullish on bill’s chances; two far-right MKs noncommital
By Sam Sokol
Lawmakers debate the government's bill regulating ultra-Orthodox conscription in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, December 1, 2025. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)
December 1, 2025, 5:34 pm
Coalition MKs tear into Haredi draft exemption bill, throwing it into uncertainty
Minister pledges to vote against measure ‘even if it means the prime minister will fire me’; rare expressions of open defiance extend to members of Netanyahu’s Likud
By Sam Sokol
MK Dan Illouz speaks during an Economic Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on March 26, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
November 30, 2025, 8:54 pm
Likud rebel demands changes to ‘toothless’ ultra-Orthodox draft exemption bill
Dan Illouz pans fellow party member Bismuth’s suggestion for regulating community’s enlistment, says he can’t support legislation in its current form
By Sam Sokol
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