Haredi

Why Israel’s Arab-Jewish coexistence is stronger than its racists - opinion

A hospital visit offered hope for Arab-Jewish coexistence. A light rail encounter revealed how much hatred still threatens it.

|ByDAVID BRINN
View of Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem, July 1, 2026.
Ultra-Orthodox protesters demonstrate against a cafe operating on Shabbat and clash with Israeli police, while secular protesters hold a counter-demonstration in support of the cafe in central Jerusalem, August 8, 2026.

'Result of haredi terror': Jerusalem's Basimta Cafe to close on Shabbat after weeks of protests

“Now we are asking to return Basimta Cafe to what it was intended to be: a calm, pleasant and open place for coffee, culture and dialogue,” said the CEO of Jews for Jesus, Eli Birnbaum.

|ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM, EFRAT FORSHER
Martin Marks, Special Assistant to the President and Director of Jewish Engagement.

Editor's Notes: The man who decides which Jews the president hears - comment

Six rabbis were invited to the Oval Office before Rosh Hashanah. The interesting question isn’t who they are, but who picked them.

|ByZVIKA KLEIN
Police officers stand by as ultra-Orthodox men block a road during a protest against conscription into the IDF in Bnei Brak in August.

High Court strikes down law shielding haredi yeshiva students from arrest over draft evasion

Justice Ofer Grosskopf froze the law on July 15, one day after it passed, and the full nine-justice panel maintained that freeze following a hearing later that month.

|BySARAH BEN-NUN

Senior rabbi claims comments attacking religious Zionists' IDF service were misinterpreted

"We may encounter people who differ from our way of life, and it is imperative to be careful of any arguments with them regarding our differing views," he stated at a conference for community rabbis.

JULY 21, 2026ByTZVI JASPER
Rabbi Dov Lando, head of the Slabodka yeshiva in Bnei Brak arrives to deliver a lesson at the Mir Yeshiva, in the ultra orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim, Jerusalem, September 19, 2023.

Haredi leader attacks religious Zionists for fighting in Israeli ‘murder’ wars, PM condemns remarks

Prime Minister Netanyahu and Lando's Degel Hatorah faction of the UTJ Party clashed after the latter's comments, with the PM defending soldiers and the party warning against attacking Torah scholars.

JULY 20, 2026ByTZVI JASPER
Rabbi Dov Lando seen during a meeting to discuss the drafting of ultra-Orthodox jews to the IDF in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, April 5, 2024.

Employee Union chairman says inspectors will not return to Bnei Brak without security - report

Following the meeting with the mayor, the Tax Authority announced that operations in the city would resume.

JULY 20, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Israeli srcurity and rescue forces inspect the damage at the scene where a missile fired from Iran toward Israel caused damage in Bnei Brak, central Israel, March 31, 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.

JULY 19, 2026ByKESHET NEEV
The Haredi Public party launched a large-scale advertising campaign at the entrances to and exits from major haredi cities on July 19, 2026.

Municipality is not 'modesty patrol': Bnei Brak councilman slams sidewalk gender segregation

About a week ago, the Bnei Brak municipality announced an unusual measure to separate men and women on sidewalks in the area surrounding the city’s event halls.

JULY 19, 2026By103FM
Street sign reading women on one side and men on the other, in the ultra orthodox Jewish town of Bnei Brak, July 15, 2026.

Jerusalem's Bikur Cholim hospital battle puts city's pluralism to the test

“If the hassidim take control of the eastern building, it will no longer be open to the public, and the gate will be locked,” warned Jerusalem's Deputy Mayor Yosef Havilio.

JULY 19, 2026ByJUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
The Jerusalem Bikur Cholim hospital in Jerusalem closes due to lack of money. November 30, 2010.

Israel urges rabbis to help stop Iranian spy recruitment after dozens of indictments - report

Iranian agents use a simple recruitment method, relying on "fishing expeditions and luck," gradually escalating their demands in exchange for "easy" money.

JULY 18, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Rabbi Yigal Cohen light candles for the 45 victims who were killed in a stampede, at the scene of the fatal disaster, at Mt Meron, last week. May 06, 2021.

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.

JULY 17, 2026ByJONATHAN LIEBERMAN
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

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.