Shas

Knesset advances bill to enshrine Torah study into Basic Law, supporting haredi draft evaders

It proposes that the State of Israel "recognize those who commit themselves to long-term dedication to Torah study as performing significant service to the state and the Jewish people."

MK Tally Gotliv and and MK Ofir Katz attend a House committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on, June 9, 2026.
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish sector has been protesting over the attempts to draft young haredi men into the military.

Shas pushes tone-deaf Torah study law while soldiers die in Lebanon, Gaza - comment

SHAS PARTY leader Arye Deri visits military prison expressing support for draft evaders, Sunday, June 7, 2026.

Deri says Shas supports draft evaders during prison visit, calls to add Torah study to Basic Law

MK Boaz Bismuth seen with Haredi MK's during a plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, January 14, 2026.

Haredi MKs instructed to end cooperation with coalition over contentious ultra-Orthodox draft bill


Netanyahu's coalition 'massively pressuring' MKs to vote for haredi draft bill, Haskel tells 'Post'

Haskel told The Jerusalem Post that over the weekend, “phone calls were made to almost all coalition members in order to check their positions and pressure them to vote on the conscription law.”

Deputy Minister MK Sharren Haskel attends a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem, December 2, 2025.

Haredi conscription debate threatens long-standing Israeli coalitions - opinion

Ultra-Orthodox parties face mounting political backlash as Israel’s war strains the reserve system and coalition stability.

 Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with police outside the IDF Recruitment Center at Tel Hashomer, central Israel, April 28, 2025

Former interior minister Moshe Arbel announces his resignation from Knesset

Arbel thanked Deri and the other members of Shas "for their trust and guidance over the years" and said it was "a great privilege that fell to me to learn from you up close."

Moshe Arbel.

Haredi parties may push elections as Netanyahu loses leverage - analysis

The political alliance that was once considered Netanyahu’s most stable anchor, his exclusive political asset, can no longer be taken for granted.

 Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers, or Yom HaZikaron, at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem April 21, 2026.

'May God kill, destroy the judges,' Yitzhak Yosef denounces ruling restricting Western Wall prayers

Former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef criticizes the High Court’s decision restricting Passover prayers at the Western Wall, calling the judges "heretics" and "Shabbat desecrators."

 Shas spiritual leader and former Sephardic chief rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, seen during a weekly lecture at the Yazdim synagogue in Jerusalem, June 07, 2025; illustrative.

Knesset passes law expanding powers of Israel’s rabbinic courts to arbitrate civil matters

Under the law, rabbinical courts may act as arbitrators only with the consent of all parties.

THE CHIEF RABBINATE’S Supreme Court for Appeals in Jerusalem: Israelis deserve a religious court system that honors both Halacha and human dignity, the writer asserts.

Shas fills local rabbi posts with loyalists, sidelining community choice - opinion

Shas moves quickly to fill rabbinic vacancies, sidelining candidates who fit their cities.

Head of Shas party Aryeh Deri and Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef visit at the scene of suspected arson and vandalism at a Jerusalem synagogue which is often frequented by Rabbi Yosef, June 8, 2025.

Knesset advances bill granting Chief Rabbinate authority over Western Wall prayer

The bill passed by a margin of 56-47 and will now be discussed in Knesset committee meetings. It will still need to undergo three more plenum readings to become a law. 

A Jewish woman prays at the Little Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, February 18, 2026

Knesset panel advances bill to expand rabbinical courts’ power over civil matters

Critics have warned of the bill's democratic implications, including those involving women's rights, which may deepen the rift between the haredi and secular communities.

THE RABBINICAL Court’s Division for Agunot in Jerusalem.

High Court: Israeli gov't must explain why it funds haredi schools without core studies

The order, issued in a petition filed by Hiddush, demands that the Education and Finance ministries explain why state funding is not conditioned on the teaching of core-curriculum subjects.

 HAREDI YESHIVA students