National MKs Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, and Chili Tropper hosted a conference on Monday in the Knesset to fight the government’s intention to exempt the majority of haredi men from military service. Gantz called the developing bill a “bluff” and refuted the claim that in the previous government, he and his colleagues were willing … Read more
Following intense fractious debate over several proposed laws and amendments, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on coalition members on Monday to come together and resolve the two largest threats to Israel: Iran and the conscription law. The debate on the rabbi law was originally scheduled for Monday night but was postponed to an unknown … Read more
Gov’t secretary Yossi Fuchs made an illegal threat against labor ministry accountant to force him to approve financial transfers to families for daycare subsidies, including to haredi families whose father had not reported for IDF service and were therefore illegible, the attorney-general’s office charged on Monday morning. In a sharply worded letter, Deputy AG … Read more
Among the fronts on which Israel has been fighting since October 7, there is one where it is clearly failing to meet the challenges it faces – the economy. This is a front that is no less of a threat to any on which Israel is fighting militarily. No country can function without an … Read more
Israel’s government approved on Sunday a proposal aimed at avoiding economic measures against military-age haredi (ultra-Orthodox) yeshiva students, who are required by law to report for IDF service. The proposal was deemed “not legally viable” by the attorney-general’s office, whose opinions are legally binding, but the government approved the measure regardless. The text of … Read more
The far-right Otzma Yehudit party is negotiating with the two haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, in an attempt to cut a deal to pass a number of controversial bills and measures this week, before the Knesset sets out on its three-month summer recess on Sunday, an Otzma Yehudit spokesperson confirmed on Monday. … Read more
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) on Sunday gave a security briefing to members of the cabinet, in which he reportedly implored them to approve measures proposed by the Defense Ministry to lengthen IDF mandatory service, increase the number of days of reserve duty per year, and extend the cutoff age for reservists by five … Read more
Arab-speaking social media accounts showed much interest in the High Court of Justice’s ruling to draft eligible haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men to the IDF. Many cited Israeli military leadership’s statements regarding the shortage of manpower following the war, attributing this status to the “success of the resistance,” such as users who claimed that this decision … Read more
Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion made a significant decision at a Provisional State Council meeting not to draft yeshiva students, setting in motion a policy that would shape Israeli society and provoke decades of debate over military service exemptions. On Friday, early October 1948, two days before Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) 1948, the … Read more
Tuesday’s High Court of Justice ruling is unlikely to cause an immediate rupture in Israel’s governing coalition, for the simple reason that there are no other political constellations in which the haredi parties will be able to gain more than the current one. In fact, the ruling may strengthen the coalition. The ruling will … Read more
