Ultra-Orthodox draft

Exhibition of ultra-Orthodox military draft cartoons vandalized ahead of Animix Festival

A young man wearing a kippah confronted organizers and Tel Aviv Cinematheque CEO Tomer Cohen. They said he tore down and damaged parts of the exhibition before attempting to flee.

Cartoon showing Moses saying, "Don't they teach  this commandment at yeshivas?" and holding a tablet that says, "Thou shalt not vandalize cartoons," created in response to the incident.
Ultra orthodox Jews protest against the drafting of ultra orthodox jews to the Israeli army, in Jerusalem, July 15, 2026.

Haredi anti-draft protesters demonstrate against new Ma'alot Tzur enlistment program head- report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a vote at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2026.

Netanyahu can't campaign against draft-evasion law he just backed - editorial

Ultra orthodox Jewish reserve soldiers of the IDF's Hasmonean Brigade operate in the Gaza Strip on June 26, 2025.

From 'better to die' to enlistment: Why haredi draft calculus is shifting - analysis


ITIM organization asks High Court to bar draft evaders from Rabbinate exam benefits

ITIM asked the High Court to bar men from using yeshiva study completed without regularized military status to qualify for Rabbinate certification.

The Supreme Court convenes to maintain the freeze on the law limiting enforcement against haredi (ultra-Orthodox) draft dodgers, July 28, 2026.

Beyond the haredi draft: What’s really at stake for Israel’s future - opinion

It would be a national mistake if many make one of the most consequential political decisions of their lives based primarily on anger over a single issue, without considering the much broader impact.

 ‘THE HAREDI leadership argues that it is forbidden to draft yeshiva students whose Torah is their profession and that they defend the State of Israel through their studies.’

High Court appears poised to strike down law freezing haredi draft enforcement

Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara on Friday asked the court to strike down the law, arguing that it retains the duty to enlist while removing the consequences for refusal.

The nine-member panel at the High Court of Justice looks on as the hearing opens in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Yaakov Aharon Farber, founder of Ma'alot Tzur haredi enlistment program, dies at 32

Farber was the founder and CEO of Ma'alot Tzur, a program that integrated Haredim into the IDF. 

Rabbi Yaakov Aharon Farber.

Government tells High Court draft arrests risk civil war, says case outcome 'known in advance'

“Israel needs haredi recruits, not haredi detainees,” the government said, arguing that arrests of yeshiva students could reverse a gradual increase in enlistment and risk civil war.

Thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from the Gur (Hasidic dynasty) protest outside Military Prison near Kfar Yona, central Israel, against the jailing of seminary students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order, July 20, 2026.

'Abandoning values': Yoaz Hendel accuses Religious Zionist Party of encouraging mass draft evasion

The former minister rejected reliance on Arab and haredi parties, called for a broad Zionist government, and said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should leave office.

Reservists Party leader Yoaz Hendel presents national PTSD recovery plan after October 7, May 10, 2026.

A-G asks High Court to strike down 'discriminatory' haredi draft enforcement freeze

The law passed the Knesset on July 14. Justice Ofer Grosskopf froze it the following day and ordered the state and Knesset to explain why it should not be struck down.

Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a House committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on, June 8, 2026.

Over 70 mayors, council leaders file petition against haredi draft exemption law

"Studying Torah is an important value in the Jewish people, but no less important than that is the value of preserving and defending the land," the petition explained.

 Haredi men are seen protesting the effort to draft ultra-Orthodox Israelis into the IDF.

Haredi leaders, Yahya Sinwar: Different ideologies, the same refusal to face reality - opinion

In Keinon’s reading, Gaza’s devastation was not an unforeseen consequence. It was a price Sinwar was prepared to pay in the hope of igniting a regional war that would ultimately destroy Israel.

United Torah Judaism MKs Moshe Gafni and Yitzhak Goldknopf attend a Knesset vote on a bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders, in Jerusalem, July 14, 2026

The 'most right-wing government' just outed itself as leftist - opinion

This is not a technical legal debate over exemptions. It is a fundamental strategic choice about the future security of the State of Israel.

The Knesset plenum is seen during a vote on the communications reform, in Jerusalem, July 16, 2026