Ultra-Orthodox

WATCH: Haredi anti-draft protesters block Highway 4 near Bnei Brak

Several dozen protesters blocked the southbound direction of the highway, with others blocking the northbound direction.

|ByALON HACHMON, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Haredi protesters against the IDF draft block Highway 4 near Bnei Brak, August 19, 2025.
Israeli police and haredi demonstrators clash in Jerusalem, July 23, 2025.

IDF considers recruiting from Diaspora due to severe manpower shortages

Currently, there are some 14,600 deserters from the haredi community. The military has made several arrests against haredi draft dodgers over the past week. 

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
THE ENLISTMENT process for the Netzah Yehuda battalion takes place at the Tal Hashomer military base.

Netanyahu to Border Police haredi unit: Torah study, military service 'not contradictory'

"We are in a process of change. It is very important to show the great contribution of all parts of society, but as far as I am concerned, you are pioneers," Netanyahu told the soldiers.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Black flag in protest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu placed on the grave of Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, March 22, 2020

Video showing haredi youth desecrating Ben-Gurion's grave prompts outrage, police investigation

“Whether the video is authentic or fake, it attempts to tarnish David Ben-Gurion's memory," the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute stated,

|ByJOSH ARONSON

International yeshiva students answer IDF's call as Har Etzion breaks records

This week, 32 overseas students from the prestigious yeshiva will be drafting into the IDF alongside their Israeli peers – the highest number in the yeshiva’s 56-year history.

AUGUST 9, 2025ByCHANAH KOPPEL
HARAV AHARON LICHTENSTEIN, longtime rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion, with IDF soldiers in 2008.

Poll reveals strong Israeli public support for non-Orthodox marriage

According to the findings, 60% of the Jewish public supports Israel recognizing all types of marriages, including civil, Conservative, and Reform ceremonies.

AUGUST 7, 2025ByJOANIE MARGULIES
An Israeli bride and her groom get married, November 30, 2020

'Israel has declared war on Torah scholars': Haredi leaders call for global protest

"The State of Israel has declared war on Torah scholars. The Haredi community will launch a global battle like no other,” the leaders of the Haredi community said.

AUGUST 6, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Haredim protest against the IDF draft outside Tel Hashomer recruitment base, April 28. 2025.

Israel needs a reimagined educational system that teaches how to disagree respectfully - opinion

The Hebrew state education system must now awaken to its historic responsibility. It must renew its commitment to the values of a Jewish and democratic state.

AUGUST 3, 2025ByOFEK MEIR
Ultra orthodox jewish kids seen the first day of school at an Ultra-Orthodox school in Neve Yaakov Neighborhood of Jerusalem on August 9, 2021.

Israeli Jews need to see people as individuals, not labels, to fight internal division - opinion

In a wide-ranging discussion on the Inspiration from Zion podcast, speakers unpacked how to fight current trends such as Jewish division in Israel.

AUGUST 3, 2025ByJONATHAN FELDSTEIN
Worshipers sit on low surfaces in mourning on Tisha B’Av at the Western Wall last year. The understanding that baseless hatred was the cause of the Temples’ destruction underscores how our enemies can defeat us only when we are disunited.

Grapevine: Between then and now

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

AUGUST 3, 2025ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
STEPHEN B. KLEIN

How the Iran war impacted Israel's haredi conscription debate - opinion

The war with Iran has created ripples in Israel's domestic social and political fabric, particularly regarding the debate over ultra-Orthodox military service.

JULY 22, 2025ByNIMROD KOREN
HAREDI DEMONSTRATORS protest in Jerusalem, earlier this year, against serving in the military. The decreased immediate need for substantial expansion of the army’s ranks lessens the pressure to accelerate haredi conscription, says the writer.

Geula: Jerusalem's beating heart of ultra-Orthodox life

Originally just one small district, Geula has become so synonymous with haredi life that its name now blankets an entire cluster of neighborhoods. 

JULY 18, 2025ByALEX WINSTON
Several haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) are seen walking around Jerusalem's Geula neighborhood.

Reality check: Ultra-Orthodox rabbis are leading their flock to a historic dead end - opinion

MIDDLE ISRAEL: In their wartime conduct, the ultra-orthodox rabbis show a lack of commitment and a real disconnection with reality.

JULY 18, 2025ByAMOTZ ASA-EL
"We are at war. Join it! Fully, immediately, to the last of you, like everyone else," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not tell Shas leader Arye Deri.

'My conscience is clear': Why MK Yuli Edelstein won't settle for a soft haredi draft - interview

"This law ends the phenomenon of pretending to study Torah. To me, that’s a disgrace to the world of Torah," Edelstein told Maariv.

JULY 18, 2025ByANNA BARSKY
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee MK Yuli Edelstein speaks at the Muni Expo 2025 conference in Tel Aviv, on July 15, 2025.

Israel Police, with FBI's help, collect testimony from Chaim Rotter victim in US

Rotter's arrest has been consistently extended, and several others who are close to him were apprehended for questioning as well. 

JULY 17, 2025BySARAH BEN-NUN
Chaim Rotter arrives to a court hearing at the Magistrate's Court in Tel Aviv, July 2, 2025