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Legally iffy and loophole-laden, new Haredi draft bill a recruitment boon… for yeshivas

Legislation will not up number of ultra-Orthodox joining army, but will incentivize enlistment in religious schools and working on the sly or staying...

yesterday 10

Sam Sokol

Smotrich says proposed budget will open banking market, break monopolies

Finance minister promises to slash cost of living; Lapid warns of hidden agendas in coalition’s budget, says plan will ‘crush’...

yesterday 40

Sam Sokol

Bennett calls Haredi draft law a con, quotes Moses saying Torah students must fight in wars

PM cancels his own video address, claiming scheduling conflict, but Lapid and other rivals accuse him of hiding from public scrutiny over...

previous day 60

Sam Sokol

IDF personnel head on Haredi draft: Army can ‘absorb everything needed,’ with notice

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;...

tuesday 20

Sam Sokol

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...

01.12.2025 30

Sam Sokol

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...

01.12.2025 10

Sam Sokol

Ousted chair of Knesset defense panel: Government pushing ‘exact opposite’ of a conscription law

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, who backed stricter measure, says critics inside coalition of bill exempting yeshiva students from IDF service will face...

28.11.2025 60

Sam Sokol

FIFA teams up with Switzerland to fund soccer fields for Palestinians in West Bank

Swiss government gives $149,000 to construction of community ‘FIFA arenas,’ following organization chief’s pledge to to ‘help...

28.11.2025 10

Sam Sokol

Bismuth presents bill exempting yeshiva students from IDF draft, loosening sanctions

Controversial legislation would only conscript members of ultra-Orthodox community who do not learn full-time in yeshiva, and lift all sanctions...

28.11.2025 20

Sam Sokol

VAT exemption on personal imports to rise from $75 to $150

Treasury says aim of Smotrich’s move is to reduce cost of living, remove power from alleged monopolies that keep consumer prices higher than...

26.11.2025 30

Sam Sokol

Lack of full-time leaders hobbling ministries ditched by Haredi parties, critics say

After weeks without any minister at all, five portfolios come under management of lawmakers busy with other tasks, sparking accusations that PM is...

25.11.2025 50

Sam Sokol

NYPD chief apologizes for allowing ‘turmoil’ outside synagogue

After anti-Israel activists chanted ‘Death to the IDF’ at Park East Synagogue entrance, Jessica Tisch says she could have done more; DoJ...

25.11.2025 20

Sam Sokol

Knesset approves Katz and Levin appointments to head ministries vacated by Haredim

Likud ministers handed posts held by Haredi parties before they bolted government months ago; Netanyahu hoping advancement of conscription bill could...

25.11.2025 20

Sam Sokol

Cabinet appoints Levin to head labor, religious services and Jerusalem ministries

Justice minister to helm portfolios vacated after ultra-Orthodox parties withdrew from government this summer; he will retain control ‘until...

23.11.2025 60

Sam Sokol

Sidestepping state October 7 probe, Netanyahu may see chance to outflank opposition

Pushing an inquiry that falls short of public demands, PM could still score politically by changing the narrative and giving his base a rallying cry...

21.11.2025 20

Sam Sokol

UTJ’s Degel HaTorah faction says it supports latest version of draft exemption bill

Party’s rabbinic leaders demand that yeshiva students ‘continue to study,’ says spokesman for Rabbi Lando; in response, Religious...

19.11.2025 40

Sam Sokol

Retired general Noam Tibon, known for Oct. 7 rescue, joins Yesh Atid party

Former commander of IDF’s Northern Corps, demanding state commission of inquiry into Hamas attack and end to Haredi draft exemptions, brings...

19.11.2025 30

Sam Sokol

Minister says Oct. 7 inquiry will probe ‘judicial system,’ those who ‘weakened deterrence’

Amichai Eliyahu says investigation will look at ‘those who imposed absurd and delusional moral rules on the IDF’; Liberman condemns...

18.11.2025 30

Sam Sokol

Sa’ar, who tapped Baharav-Miara as AG, says role ‘dictator-like,’ must be broken up

FM, who was justice minister in anti-Netanyahu government and a one-time critic of judicial overhaul, tells lawmakers AG office in Israel has...

18.11.2025 10

Sam Sokol

Government moves to appoint own probe into Oct. 7, nixing state commission of inquiry

Cabinet decision says ministers will determine commission’s mandate; Lapid accuses coalition of ‘doing everything it can to escape the truth...

16.11.2025 20

Sam Sokol

Likud MK says IDF conscription bill aims to draft half of Haredim ‘not in yeshiva’

Controversial legislation ‘more or less ready,’ says Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair, while asserting that within five years...

16.11.2025 40

Sam Sokol

PM’s far-right allies up in arms over US plan’s offer of path to Palestinian statehood

As Washington weighs selling F-35s to Riyadh, Israel said insisting sale be conditioned on normalization; politicians, settler leaders oppose...

16.11.2025 50

Sam Sokol

Draft exemption bill stuck as coalition faces internal dissension, Haredi demands

A number of MKs in Netanyahu’s coalition have expressed opposition to Haredi draft legislation but ‘it remains to be seen whether they...

12.11.2025 10

Sam Sokol

Smotrich to resume voting with coalition after compromise on reservist compensation

Deal with Netanyahu will see legislation on tax benefits brought to final votes next week; combat soldiers earning low wages will receive...

12.11.2025 50

Sam Sokol

Knesset panel told of extensive marital, financial strain among reservists’ families

Women and equality committee cites statistics showing half of reservist spouses reported harm to their marriage, with a third reporting thoughts of...

11.11.2025 40

Sam Sokol

Knesset advances bill mandating death penalty for terrorists who killed Israelis

Critics say legislation would apply only to Arabs who kill Jews and not to Jewish terrorists, while supporters argue it would deter attacks by...

11.11.2025 60

Sam Sokol

Cabinet okays NIS 3.25 billion in benefits for IDF career soldiers

Package of grants and benefits aimed at ‘strengthening the soldiers’ economic security and encouraging continued long-term service,’...

09.11.2025 50

Sam Sokol

Opposition heads meet, vow to fight government’s Haredi ‘evasion law,’ judicial ‘coup’

Again avoiding photo-op, leaders of so-called change bloc pledge to ‘continue to work with all our might to bring about elections as quickly as...

09.11.2025 60

Sam Sokol

Otzma Yehudit won’t topple Netanyahu, MK says after party’s threat to bolt over Gaza

Far-right lawmaker Yitzhak Kroizer says party demanding Israel take over and resettle Gaza while helping Palestinians leave, but says the threat is...

07.11.2025 70

Sam Sokol

Despite apparently backing Bismuth’s draft exemption law, Shas still deeply divided

Senior Shas rabbis complain that chairman Aryeh Deri is weakening their influence in the party as it debates coalition proposal to regulate Haredi...

07.11.2025 7

Sam Sokol

Smotrich to halt voting with coalition until MKs pass bill giving reservists tax breaks

Legislative boycott will have little impact, as coalition does not currently have a majority; coalition whip Katz says bill ‘drastically...

06.11.2025 50

Sam Sokol

Israeli politicians alarmed at election of ‘Hamas supporter’ Mamdani as NY mayor

Diaspora minister calls on local Jews to move to Israel; Democratic mayoral candidate’s win represents ‘social justice, equality, and...

05.11.2025 30

Sam Sokol

State comptroller pans government failure to prepare economy for war

Report says Israelis to foot NIS 250 million bill by end of 2025, will continue to pay for war in future; government struggled to respond to key...

04.11.2025 9

Sam Sokol

One victim in Manchester synagogue attack was killed by police gunfire, probe finds

Manchester police chief says Adrian Daulby, 53, was accidentally shot through the door when armed officer fired several rounds at terrorist Jihad...

29.10.2025 10

Sam Sokol

Coalition hails probe of leaked video apparently showing abuse of Gazan prisoner

Far-right lawmaker who joined mob at detention facility where abuse allegedly took place last year accuses military’s top lawyer of distributing...

29.10.2025 10

Sam Sokol

Coalition-backed bill that would strip AG of all authority passes preliminary reading

Legislation pushed by Levin and Rothman would divide current AG job into 3 separate roles; government trying to ‘turn Israel into a complete...

29.10.2025 10

Sam Sokol

Likud boots Edelstein from defense panel for ‘violations of faction discipline’

Move would prevent veteran MK from opposing government bill regulating Haredi enlistment while it’s in committee; replacement not yet announced

29.10.2025 40

Sam Sokol

Dozens of coalition MKs, ministers call on Herzog to free Jewish security prisoners

Members of Likud, Shas, Otzma Yehudit, Religious Zionism and UTJ make demand in response to Israel’s release of Palestinian terrorists under...

28.10.2025 40

Sam Sokol

Lapid says he’ll push for revoking ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers’ right to vote

Liberman welcomes opposition leader’s threat, while Gantz derides ‘illegal’ and undemocratic proposal

27.10.2025 10

Sam Sokol

Ultra-Orthodox plan massive anti-draft rally at entrance to Jerusalem on Thursday

Demonstration set to unite Haredi factions in protest of arrests of draft dodgers; 2 members of ruling Likud party weigh joining the event, while...

27.10.2025 30

Sam Sokol

Ministerial committee advances bill aimed at hampering Bennett electoral campaign

Bennett says government fears him and is using ‘anti-democratic’ law to try to block his run; panel delays decision on bill allowing...

26.10.2025 10

Sam Sokol

As election nears, annexation fiasco shows Netanyahu losing control of his coalition

PM tried hard to prevent the preliminary approval of two West Bank annexation bills, knowing he risked irritating the Trump administration, but simply...

26.10.2025 10

Sam Sokol

Ministers poised to advance bills that would halt Netanyahu’s trial, block Bennett’s run

Attorney general warns legislation aimed to halt PM’s trial is ‘unconstitutional,’ harms equality before the law; former PM decries...

26.10.2025 40

Sam Sokol

Coalition lawmakers join Haredim in protesting arrest of draft dodgers

Tally Gotliv, Simcha Rothman and other right-wing and religious MKs call arrests of bereaved yeshiva student and newlywed draft dodger excessive and...

23.10.2025 30

Sam Sokol

Shas quits its coalition posts to protest failure to legislate Haredi draft exemption

But ultra-Orthodox party remains in the coalition, pledging to return to its government and Knesset roles ‘when the status of yeshiva students...

23.10.2025 40

Sam Sokol

Likud to kick Edelstein off Knesset defense panel after he votes for annexation bill

Former Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair says ‘dismissal is a moral badge of honor for me’; opposition MK: Netanyahu wants...

22.10.2025 10

Sam Sokol

‘War on Torah students’: Haredi MKs condemn ‘despicable arrests’ of draft dodgers

Hardline Jerusalem faction reports recent ‘wave of arrests’; MK Goldknopf claims yeshiva students ‘have been made into criminals...

22.10.2025 40

Sam Sokol

2 West Bank annexation bills get initial nod, with MKs rebelling against PM as Vance visits

Netanyahu’s Likud punishes Edelstein for casting decisive vote, dismisses bill as opposition ‘trolling,’ but also says it is working...

22.10.2025 50

Sam Sokol

Invisible wounds haunt IDF’s Gaza veterans as war triggers wave of psychological suffering

Army tracks dozens of suicides, thousands of requests for recognition of mental illness over two-year war; PTSD sufferers keep up encampment outside...

22.10.2025 60

Sam Sokol

Bismuth says law regulating ultra-Orthodox conscription will be passed in December

‘I admire those who wear the uniform, but just as much — and I say this out loud — I admire those who study the Torah,’ Knesset...

22.10.2025 40

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Legally iffy and loophole-laden, new Haredi draft bill a recruitment boon… for yeshivas

Sam Sokol

Smotrich says proposed budget will open banking market, break monopolies

Sam Sokol

Bennett calls Haredi draft law a con, quotes Moses saying Torah students must fight in wars

Sam Sokol

IDF personnel head on Haredi draft: Army can ‘absorb everything needed,’ with notice

Sam Sokol

Coalition MKs tear into Haredi draft exemption bill, throwing it into uncertainty

Sam Sokol

Likud rebel demands changes to ‘toothless’ ultra-Orthodox draft exemption bill

Sam Sokol

Ousted chair of Knesset defense panel: Government pushing ‘exact opposite’ of a conscription law

Sam Sokol

FIFA teams up with Switzerland to fund soccer fields for Palestinians in West Bank

Sam Sokol

Bismuth presents bill exempting yeshiva students from IDF draft, loosening sanctions

Sam Sokol

VAT exemption on personal imports to rise from $75 to $150

Sam Sokol

Lack of full-time leaders hobbling ministries ditched by Haredi parties, critics say

Sam Sokol

NYPD chief apologizes for allowing ‘turmoil’ outside synagogue

Sam Sokol

Knesset approves Katz and Levin appointments to head ministries vacated by Haredim

Sam Sokol

Cabinet appoints Levin to head labor, religious services and Jerusalem ministries

Sam Sokol

Sidestepping state October 7 probe, Netanyahu may see chance to outflank opposition

Sam Sokol

UTJ’s Degel HaTorah faction says it supports latest version of draft exemption bill

Sam Sokol

Retired general Noam Tibon, known for Oct. 7 rescue, joins Yesh Atid party

Sam Sokol

Minister says Oct. 7 inquiry will probe ‘judicial system,’ those who ‘weakened deterrence’

Sam Sokol

Sa’ar, who tapped Baharav-Miara as AG, says role ‘dictator-like,’ must be broken up

Sam Sokol

Government moves to appoint own probe into Oct. 7, nixing state commission of inquiry

Sam Sokol

Likud MK says IDF conscription bill aims to draft half of Haredim ‘not in yeshiva’

Sam Sokol

PM’s far-right allies up in arms over US plan’s offer of path to Palestinian statehood

Sam Sokol

Draft exemption bill stuck as coalition faces internal dissension, Haredi demands

Sam Sokol

Smotrich to resume voting with coalition after compromise on reservist compensation

Sam Sokol

Knesset panel told of extensive marital, financial strain among reservists’ families

Sam Sokol

Knesset advances bill mandating death penalty for terrorists who killed Israelis

Sam Sokol

Cabinet okays NIS 3.25 billion in benefits for IDF career soldiers

Sam Sokol

Opposition heads meet, vow to fight government’s Haredi ‘evasion law,’ judicial ‘coup’

Sam Sokol

Otzma Yehudit won’t topple Netanyahu, MK says after party’s threat to bolt over Gaza

Sam Sokol

Despite apparently backing Bismuth’s draft exemption law, Shas still deeply divided

Sam Sokol

Smotrich to halt voting with coalition until MKs pass bill giving reservists tax breaks

Sam Sokol

Israeli politicians alarmed at election of ‘Hamas supporter’ Mamdani as NY mayor

Sam Sokol

State comptroller pans government failure to prepare economy for war

Sam Sokol

One victim in Manchester synagogue attack was killed by police gunfire, probe finds

Sam Sokol

Coalition hails probe of leaked video apparently showing abuse of Gazan prisoner

Sam Sokol

Coalition-backed bill that would strip AG of all authority passes preliminary reading

Sam Sokol

Likud boots Edelstein from defense panel for ‘violations of faction discipline’

Sam Sokol

Dozens of coalition MKs, ministers call on Herzog to free Jewish security prisoners

Sam Sokol

Lapid says he’ll push for revoking ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers’ right to vote