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Haredim

MK Yitzhak Goldknopf, center, alongside Likud's Justice Minister Yariv Levin, left, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, right, during a Knesset vote on a bill to freeze arrests of Haredi draft evaders in Jerusalem, July 14, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
July 16, 2026, 4:50 pm
Pyrrhic victory on law banning arrests of draft dodgers could cost Netanyahu coalition at ballot box
Likud and its allies went to mat for an unpopular law meant to shield ultra-Orthodox from military conscription, losing vital support in the name of legislation that is already on its way to being struck down
By Tal Schneider
Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer holds a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem, December 1, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
July 15, 2026, 8:02 pm
Right-wing minister critical of Haredi draft exemption efforts says won’t seek reelection
Religious Zionism’s Ofir Sofer said leaving politics over coalition’s efforts to okay exemptions for Yeshiva students, day after Knesset passed law to halt arrests of draft evaders
By ToI Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (foreground) walks past ultra-Orthodox MKs as the Knesset prepares to pass a law banning the arrests of draft dodgers that will effectively freeze ultra-Orthodox enlistment into the IDF for at least the next seven months, July 14, 2026. Netanyahu left the chamber before the vote itself. At center, with hands around his mouth, is UTJ MK Meir Porush. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
July 14, 2026, 8:28 pm
Knesset passes law banning arrests of Haredi draft dodgers, legitimizing ongoing mass non-enlistment
Petitions against law filed to High Court; deputy minister quits in protest; Netanyahu skips vote, is denounced as ‘traitor’ by opposition MK; all ultra-Orthodox MKs proudly acknowledge they have relatives who could benefit from the law
By Ariela Karmel, Jeremy Sharon and Charlie Summers
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Eyal Zamir (center) monitors Israeli strikes on Iran from the IAF war room on June 8, 2026. (IDF)
June 24, 2026, 4:27 pm
IDF chief to rabbis: We’re short thousands of troops, need female combat soldiers
In meeting with religious Zionist leaders angry over women’s inclusion in tank crews, Zamir says integration is ‘of tremendous operational importance’
By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
Illustrative: Men arguing in Beit Shemesh, October 2013. (Yaakov Lederman/Flash 90)
May 1, 2026, 5:59 am
Separate cities or shared space? Ministries at odds over huge Negev housing plan for Haredim
As the ultra-Orthodox population surges, plans for three major new cities in the south highlight a growing divide over integration, economics and the future of Haredi life
By Zev Stub
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with army recruitment orders in the Mea She’arim neighborhood of Jerusalem, October 22, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
April 26, 2026, 6:35 pm
High Court orders government to impose financial sanctions on Haredi draft evaders
In unanimous decision, court says government has failed to implement previous rulings, calls police refusal to arrest ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers an ‘unacceptable mass violation of law’
By Jeremy Sharon
Ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students learn at the Ateret Shlomo Yeshiva, in Rishon Lezion on June 11, 2025. (Shlomi Cohen/Flash90)
February 10, 2026, 11:30 pm
By 2050, almost one in four Israelis will be ultra-Orthodox, study indicates
Haredim constitute 23.5% of those eligible for military, which expected to rise to 40% by 2050, says Israel Democracy Institute; if Haredim don’t integrate, GDP could fall by 10%
By Rossella Tercatin
Ultra-Orthodox people protest against IDF recruitment in Jerusalem, January 6, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
January 7, 2026, 1:24 pm
Daily Briefing Jan. 7: Day 824 – Chaos and death at a Haredi anti-IDF protest
Political correspondent Sam Sokol discusses the tragic end of a raucous, extreme demonstration in Jerusalem against military conscription of the ultra-Orthodox
By Jessica Steinberg and Sam Sokol
Illustrative: A baby receives a routine vaccine. (naumoid; iStock by Getty Images)
November 25, 2025, 4:57 pm
Amid measles outbreak, study finds skepticism of routine vaccines soared during COVID
Bar-Ilan researcher finds that 6.6% of parents who vaccinated an older child before the pandemic chose not to vaccinate a younger child; ‘enough to trigger’ current outbreak
By Diana Bletter
Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest against conscription into the Israel Defense Forces, in Jerusalem on October 30, 2025. (Eli Katzoff/The Times of Israel)
October 30, 2025, 11:37 pm
Ultra-Orthodox fight against IDF service
On October 30, 2025, some 200,000 Haredi men flood Jerusalem in protest against conscription into the IDF, clashing with police
Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men attend a protest against mandatory military conscription, in Jerusalem, October 30, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
October 30, 2025, 7:22 pm
200,000 ultra-Orthodox men block entry to Jerusalem in protest against serving in IDF
20-year-old man falls to his death after scaling unfinished building in construction site; protesters attack journalists, clash with Border Police
By Charlie Summers, ToI Staff, Agencies and Emanuel Fabian
Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather around an Israeli soldier playing the piano at the Yitzhak Navon train station in Jerusalem, on their way to attend the Haredi protest against IDF conscription on October 30, 2025 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
October 30, 2025, 2:35 pm
Daily Briefing Oct. 30: Day 755 – Law and politics in the Haredi anti-draft rally
Political correspondent Sam Sokol and legal reporter Jeremy Sharon discuss Haredi conscription, in Knesset and at court; MK Yuli Edelstein’s ouster from committee; and Sde Teiman leak probe
By Jessica Steinberg, Sam Sokol and Jeremy Sharon
Families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and their supporters attend a rally calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza, at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, September 13, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
September 17, 2025, 10:06 pm
Ahead of Rosh Hashanah, 71% of Israelis view national mood as poor, survey finds
Israeli Jews more pessimistic than Israeli Arabs; at the same time, 33% of Israelis think coming year will be better, up from 23% last year
By Michael Horovitz
Tourism Minister Haim Katz attends a Knesset Finance Committee meeting, December 9, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
September 14, 2025, 6:29 pm
Likud’s Haim Katz okayed as permanent housing minister to replace UTJ’s Goldknopf
Appointment may be sign that Netanyahu does not expect to solve dispute over Haredi enlistment and bring UTJ back into coalition; Katz currently helms four ministries
By Sam Sokol
Beit Yaakov seminary students in their uniforms in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Meah Shearim, Jerusalem, on October 10, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
September 10, 2025, 4:53 pm
Ministry sanctions Haredi schools for refusing Sephardi students; 55 still stuck at home
With new sanctions and hearings looming, officials confront entrenched bias in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh that has left entire 9th-grade classes without a place to study
By Rossella Tercatin
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