United Torah Judaism

Torah study and Israeli military service are both sacred, but not the same - opinion

Public backlash over proposed legislation reflects a broader struggle over how Israel defines service, sacrifice and equality.

Haredim block a road and clash with police to protest the jailing of seminary students who fail to comply with IDF recruitment orders, June 1.
A LIKUD supporter waves the party’s flag at a gathering, a show of grassroots loyalty which has long defined the movement, even as critics say its primaries have reshaped, and at times distorted, who rises within its ranks.

Likud, Netanyahu dropping in public eyes amid Iran war, contentious legislation - poll

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu is seen walking past haredi lawmaker Yitzhak Goldknopf, at the Prime Minister’s Office in 2023.

Goldknopf protests 'exclusion' of haredi West Bank communities from budget in letter to Netanyahu

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.

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


2026 budget reading puts government at risk, after months of ideological sparring - analysis

If the vote is postponed, or if the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties choose not to support it and it falls, then for all intents and purposes the government will fall with it.

A PLENUM session at the Knesset.

Netanyahu convenes emergency meeting as haredi parties threaten to block state budget vote

Both haredi parties have threatened to withhold support for the state budget unless agreements are reached on the draft law to avoid conscription.

 Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as lawmakers gather at the Knesset plenum to vote on a bill that would limit some Supreme Court power, in Jerusalem July 24, 2023.

Not just 'anyone but Bibi': Israel is in election mode, but where is the ideology? - editorial

Israel's political parties should run campaigns focused on offering real ideas and alternatives. That is how political movements grow and how politics regain substance.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a 40 signatures debate, at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on January 19, 2026.

Government submits 2026 budget to Knesset, Smotrich vows passage despite rifts

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the government was "determined to pass it [the state budget] on first reading,” during a press conference at the Knesset on Monday.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich after a press conference at the ministry, December 4, 2025; illustrative.

Netanyahu to appoint UTJ’s Yisrael Eichler to gov’t role to pass contentious haredi draft bill

The move will reportedly allow Yitzhak Pindrus, from the Degel Hatorah faction, to return to the Knesset as well, after he had previously been pushed off the United Torah Judaism Party list.

MK Yisrael Eichler arrives for a meeting of the Council of Torah Sages regarding the Haredi draft exemption bill in Jerusalem, January 7, 2026.

IDF draft equality is minimum condition to restore Israeli solidarity - editorial

The Israel-Hamas War did not only take bodies; it took spirit. It took marriages, jobs, sleep, and the sense that someone competent is steering.

MK Boaz Bismuth seen with haredi MKs and Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer in the Knesset, Jerusalem, January 14, 2026.

‘Maybe we’ll bomb them, maybe I’ll just dance’: Eretz Nehederet laughs at Trump’s Iran attack plan

As it seems possible that a US attack on Iran may lead to another Iranian attack on Israel, there’s very little any of us can do except stock up on groceries and try to laugh about it all.

OMER ETZION, acting as US President Donald Trump on Eretz Nehederet.

Ultra-Orthodox sages convene on haredi IDF draft bill, withhold official stance

The rabbis reportedly did not reach a decision on the matter; however, they allegedly decided internally to reject the sanctions imposed on draft evaders.

Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, head of the Gur hassidic dynasty,  seen after a meeting of the Council of Torah Sages regarding the haredi draft exemption bill in Jerusalem, January 7, 2026.

Millions transferred to haredi schools without Knesset approval, state admits to court

During the hearing, a state representative acknowledged that a significant portion of the funds had already been transferred prior to the Finance Committee discussion.

Opposition head Yair Lapid arrives for a court hearing at the Supreme Court on a petition against the transfer of funds to ultra-Orthodox educational institutions, January 8, 2026

Beyond the bus: Addressing hate behind Eisenthal’s death in a Jerusalem riot - editorial

The driver, an Arab Israeli, reportedly called the police seeking assistance in getting out of the mob.

Ultra-Orthodox demonstrators protest at the Bar Ilan intersection in Jerusalem on November 6, 2016, following the arrest of a haredi draft-dodger.