Shas

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

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

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

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

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.

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


Haredi protesters attack Shas MK in Jerusalem following draft law advancement

Protesters shattered MK Ben-Tzur's car window and reportedly physically harmed him.

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

WATCH: Haredi demonstrators clash with passersby, throw objects at reporters covering protest

A video of a journalist from N12 having items thrown at her was shared on social media, where two reporters and their camera crew were attacked by protesters.

 Protests against haredi draft in Jerusalem, October 30, 2025.

Deri asks Ben-Gvir to intervene as Israel Railways closes Jerusalem station ahead of mass protests

"This is an illegitimate decision that will prevent a huge public from reaching the rally and praying," Shas leader Arye Deri said.

Protests against haredi draft begins in Jerusalem, October 30, 2025.

Shas quits its coalition positions, demands regulation around haredi draft law

Shas vowed to continue advocating for yeshiva students, whom the party describes as “the secret of the spiritual and historical existence of the Jewish people.”

Head of Shas party Aryeh Deri and Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef visit at the scene of suspected arson and vandalism at a Jerusalem synagogue which is often frequented by Rabbi Yosef, June 8, 2025.

Bismuth update to haredi draft bill sparks clashes at Knesset FADC meeting

Rayten stated that Bismuth’s sections of the draft were entirely different from Edelstein's outline on the conscription bill.

MK Boaz Bismuth at first meeting on new conscription bill since Edelstein ousting on August 12, 2025

Gov't approval of NIS 40 m. toward Shas school system to face legal obstacles - report 

Officials claimed that the move to transfer the funds would face major legal difficulties, the report said.

 HAREDI YESHIVA students

Gafni urges Shas to open Sephardi schools, party responds amid renewed discrimination debate

Shas put out a letter thanking Gafni, thanking him for stressing the need for Shas to remain strong and independent, as no other party properly represents the Sephardic public.

MK Moshe Gafni in the Knesset plenum, in Jerusalem, December 4, 2024

'Obvious’ Netanyahu won't break up right-wing bloc for Gantz, Likud source tells ‘Post’

“There’s no need to convey such a message because it’s obvious and self-evident" that Netanyahu won't break up the bloc for Gantz, the Likud source told the Post.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and MK Benny Gantz on the forefront of the Philadelphi Corridor (illustrative)

Gov't to fund haredi draft dodgers' Rosh Hashanah pilgrimages to Uman, Ukraine

Opposition MKs Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman slammed the move, which allocates NIS 10m., as an irresponsible use of public funds, especially during a war.

 Jews in the streets of Uman, a day after the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, September 18, 2023.

Netanyahu an ‘atheist,’ former chief rabbi says, accusing IDF of targeting Sephardim

After a week of of demonstrations outside a military prison housing haredi detainees, former Sephardi chief rabbi slammed Netanyahu and Shas leader Arye Deri of stalling the haredi draft bill.

 Shas spiritual leader and former Sephardic chief rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, seen during a weekly lecture at the Yazdim synagogue in Jerusalem, June 07, 2025; illustrative.