Yeshiva students

Smotrich calls on Netanyahu to conquer Gaza under military rule, re-establish settlements

"There is no one in the world who will do the work for us. There is no country in the world that will send its soldiers to shed their blood and forcibly disarm Hamas," he told the students.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at the Sderot Yeshiva, August 16, 2026.
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of east Jerusalem, on November 17, 2025.

Petition seeks to block yeshiva project for foreign students on east Jerusalem public land

MK Yitzhak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism) attends a House committee meeting at the Knesset, July 12, 2026.

Knesset passes contentious haredi-backed bill to enshrine Torah study in Israel's Basic Law

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at Knesset plenum to vote in favor of Basic: Law Torah Study bill, shaking hands with Degel Hatorah leader MK Moshe Gafni, Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

Israel's hysterical Torah study bill will backfire on the ultra-Orthodox - opinion


'Far from simple or clear-cut': What do Israelis think about the haredi draft bill?

The Magazine spoke to Israeli men and women who have served in the army and/or have children in uniform. Here’s what they had to say about the haredi draft debacle.

 Protesters demonstrating against the High Court ruling calling for yeshiva students to draft to the IDF, June 30, 2024.

On the haredi draft: Israelis are no longer tolerating the current situation - opinion

"We need a draft so that haredim don’t drift off and evolve into a separate people not just distinct from, but separated from, the rest of Jewry. We need each other too much for that to happen."

 A haredi man and an IDF soldier pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, November 14, 2024

Rabbi Asher Deutsch, leader of Peleg Yerushalmi, dies at 79

He previously served as the head of the Lithuanian 'Ponevezh Yeshiva' for 46 years, and has been influential in draft dodging among yeshiva students.

 Head Rabbi of Ponevezh Yeshiva (Ponevitch) Rabbi Asher Deutsch.

War in Israel leads to unexpected increase in enrollment at American yeshivas

Most yeshiva students who went home during the early stages of the war returned in December and January to help support Israel and continue their learning. 

 Jerusalem Day at the Kotel

'Throw them in the toilet': Yitzhak Yosef urges students to 'tear up' draft orders

"What do we have without our Torah? Why did we come here—to become secular? If a draft notice arrives, tear it up. Do you have a toilet at home? Flush it down,” Yosef said.

 Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef during a shaharit prayer in the northern Israeli city of Tzfat, September 17, 2024.

New York: The Hilula of Rabbi Chaim Pinto “The Younger” at the Yeshiva of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto


Rabbi Pinto: Most problems arise because people don’t know how to make decisions


Be careful what you wish for: The haredi draft is a societal challenge the IDF can solve - opinion

Let's honor every IDF soldier, regardless of community or gender, for the holy work they continue to do every day on behalf of Israel, the Jewish people, and the entire free world.

 IDF SOLDIERS pray during a break in a haredi unit’s training exercise. If haredi parents and rabbinic leaders could be assured that their sons would complete their service as they entered – as observant, ultra-Orthodox Jews – there would be more grassroots support, the writer maintains.

Haredi daycare bill: What is it and why should we care? - explainer

The general idea is that the state provides subsidized daycare for parents who otherwise would not be able to afford it.

 An illustrative image of haredi residents of Jerusalem's Ramat Eshkol neighborhood.

‘I’m an American, but I’m also Jewish’: How Orthodox women in college are voting for president

Many Jewish women in the United States, including some who are Modern Orthodox, have taken up reproductive rights as a key issue, with some suing their home states on religious grounds.

 Students pray after listening to Sapir Cohen, a freed Israeli hostage, speak during an Evening of Unity event at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women on August 27, 2024 in New York City.