Shas

Netanyahu's Likud falls to lowest position since June 2025 as Eisenkot reaches new heights - poll

A new Maariv poll shows Likud at its weakest level since June 2025, while Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar reaches a record 23 seats and Bennett maintains his lead over Netanyahu in the prime ministerial race.

|ByMOSHE COHEN
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Knesset vote, July 16, 2026.
The Haredi Public party launched a large-scale advertising campaign at the entrances to and exits from major haredi cities on July 19, 2026.

New haredi party launches, aiming to secure spot in Knesset ahead of elections

The new ultra-Orthodox Haredi Public Party led by the deputy mayor of Beit Shemesh, Moti Leitner, launched on Sunday with a large-scale advertising campaign in major haredi cities.

|ByKESHET NEEV
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.

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.

|ByHERB KEINON
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

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.

|ByMOSHE COHEN

Haredi leaders say they will support Knesset dissolution if no progress made on draft bills

According to their statement, Netanyahu "made it clear at the meeting that he is committed to approving the laws and will work to advance them quickly."

JUNE 23, 2026BySHIR PERETS, TOBIAS HOLCMAN
Shas chairman MK Arye Deri attends the State Comptroller elections at the plenum of the Knesset, in Jerusalem, June 3, 2026.

Haredi parties continue to boycott coalition voting over Torah Study bill

Shas Party leader Arye Deri also attributed the boycott of coalition voting to the recent rise in police arrests of haredi draft evaders.

JUNE 22, 2026ByKESHET NEEV
Degel Hatorah leader MK Moshe Gafni in Knesset House Committee meeting, Monday June 22, 2026.

Shas spiritual leader: Iran deal is punishment for draft dodger arrests, A-G is 'wicked woman'

"Trump turned against us because of the decrees being imposed on Torah scholars and because they are being arrested,” Yosef said.

JUNE 21, 2026ByKESHET NEEV
Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, during a weekly teaching at the Yazdim synagogue in Jerusalem, on June 7, 2025.

Ultra-Orthodox protesters block traffic, set fire on road near Jerusalem's Shabbat Square

On Thursday evening, light rail service was partially suspended between Jerusalem’s central bus station and Mount Herzl station due to haredi protests.

JUNE 18, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Israel Police responding to haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protest near Shabbat Square in Jerusaelm, June 19, 2026.

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.

JUNE 13, 2026ByMICHAEL FREUND
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.

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

This is Likud’s lowest figure since August 2025, when it received 21 seats in a Maariv poll. However, the coalition bloc maintained its strength from last week at 50 seats.

JUNE 12, 2026ByMOSHE COHEN
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.

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."

JUNE 10, 2026ByKESHET NEEV
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.

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

Those who see Torah study as essential should acknowledge the unique burden borne by those who leave their lives behind to defend the country, and that yeshiva study is not a comparable sacrifice.

JUNE 9, 2026ByHERB KEINON
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish sector has been protesting over the attempts to draft young haredi men into the military.

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

The visit was made to the Neve Tzedek Military Prison, and Deri was accompanied by other lawmakers from his party, including MK Michael Malkieli and Haim Biton.

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

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

Progress on the contentious haredi draft legislation has become intertwined with the push for the haredi parties - Shas and United Torah Judaism - to dissolve the Knesset and move up the election.

MAY 25, 2026ByKESHET NEEV
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.