Haredi

Café Basimta: The Jerusalem café where Shabbat, religious freedom, and evangelism collide - opinion

Secular Israelis began showing up, buying coffee not because they wanted to hear about Jesus, but because they wanted to make a point about religious coercion.

|ByJONATHAN FELDSTEIN, DAVID NEKRUTMAN
The writers – Jonathan Feldstein (L) and David Nekrutman – outside Café Basimta, not on Shabbat.
Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats party, attends the Shabtai Shavit World Summit on Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University in Herzliya, October 6, 2026.

Ayatollah Khamenei's assassination a 'mistake,' Democrats party leader Yair Golan says

"When you have an elderly and veteran leader, there is certainly an advantage in that," said Golan. "Of course, he was already 86 years old."

|ByAARON GLICK
HAREDI YESHIVA students

Education Min. violated privacy law in leak exposing 21,000 special education students, court finds

The ministry database contains sensitive information about more than 100,000 people and, under the regulations, is therefore subject to high security requirements, the authority said.

|BySARAH BEN-NUN
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters demonstrate against an IDF recruitment conference for the Haredi community in Jerusalem, August 4, 2026.

Israel Police criticize Military Police over handling of Modi'in draft dodger arrest after riot

Modi'in Mayor Haim Bibas, who also serves as chairman of the Local Authorities Federation, called on the police and the military to review their conduct.

|ByHODAYA RAN

Why Gadi Eisenkot is rejecting the haredi political embrace that once helped Netanyahu win

POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Yitzhak Yosef’s embrace – and Eisenkot's effort to distance himself from it – reflects Israel's shifting political landscape.

JULY 17, 2026ByHERB KEINON
Amid reports that the Shas Party could be willing to sit with him in government, Yashar Party head Gadi Eisenkot did not rule out that option entirely. Here, Eisenkot attends the Sagi Laws for Equality Confrence at the Peres Center in Jaffa earlier this week.

Grapevine July 17, 2026: Birds of a feather

Movers and shakers of Israeli society.

JULY 17, 2026ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
MK Yisrael Eichler seen at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem, on January 19, 2026.

Netanyahu's coalition falls to 48 seats, opposition gets 62 seats after legislative blitz - poll

The poll found that 83% of voters oppose the inclusion of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties in the coalition that is formed after the elections, while only 8% support it.

JULY 17, 2026ByMOSHE COHEN
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi are seen in the Knesset plenum during a vote on the minister's communications reform, in Jerusalem, July 16, 2026

Knesset passes bill to extend mandatory military service to 32 months to 'meet IDF's goals'

The passage of the bill comes amid the coalition's legislative blitz before the Knesset recesses ahead of the upcoming elections. Forty-three MKs voted in favor, with 12 against and one abstention.

JULY 16, 2026ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
A vote at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2026.

What are some of the main laws pushed during Knesset's legislative blitz? - explainer

Four major bills passed during the Knesset’s final blitz, with implications for the IDF, the judiciary, state benefits and press freedom.

JULY 16, 2026BySHIR PERETS, KESHET NEEV
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana oversees votes on Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi's communications sector reform bill, July 16, 2026.

High Court names nine-justice panel to hear petitions on law halting arrest of haredi draft dodgers

The dispute comes after a succession of increasingly forceful High Court judgments on inequality in military service and the government’s failure to enforce the existing draft law.

JULY 16, 2026BySARAH BEN-NUN
President of the Supreme Court Isaac Amit arrives for a hearing on petitions alleging flaws in the legislative process of the Communications Bill at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, July 13, 2026.

Are there other lessons from October 7? - opinion

The October 7 massacre fell on 22 Tishrei – Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, two days that signify the highest joy: one completing the festival of Sukkot, the other our rejoicing in the Torah itself

JULY 16, 2026ByELIYAHU HADDAD
Rabbi Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi delivers a torah lesson at Ateret Yisrael Yeshiva in Jerusalem, November 19, 2019.

Ultra-Orthodox protesters block Israel's Highway 4, call police 'antisemites,' injure one officer

The highway was closed between the Aluf Sade Interchange, south of Ramat Gan, and the Em Hamoshavot Interchange, north of Bnei Brak, police added.

JULY 16, 2026ByJAMES GENN
Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) children hold a sign reading that "Ir was better to die as a Jew in the Holocaust than to spiritually die in IDF camps," at a protest on Highway 4 near Bnei Brak, July 16, 2026.

Shas leader Arye Deri accuses IDF chief of 'helping the Left' with ultra-Orthodox draft stance

Deri on Zamir: 'He has lost it. What the chief of staff did... was an attempt to help the left-wing bloc' • PM hopefuls Bennett, Eisenkot swiftly condemn Shas leader's attack on IDF chief

JULY 16, 2026ByKESHET NEEV
Shas chairman MK Arye Deri attends the State Comptroller elections at the plenum of the Knesset, in Jerusalem, June 3, 2026.

Haredi women, academics file petition against Israel's new gender-segregated education law

The petition was filed hours after the Knesset approved an amendment to the law which expressly allows the Council for Higher Education to approve separate programs for men and women.

JULY 16, 2026BySARAH BEN-NUN
Activists protest against a bill promoting gender-segregated academic study tracks, introduced by MK Limor Son Har-Melech, outside the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, July 6, 2026.