Eliyahu Berkovits, at The Blogs

Eliyahu Berkovits

May 5, 2026, 2:54 PM

Lag B’Omer at Mt. Meron: What both sides get wrong

The lighting of the bonfire, during Lag Baomer celebrations, in Meron, Northern Israel, on May 4, 2026. (David Cohen/Flash90)

The pilgrimage to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's grave is rooted in a longing for the transcendent – calls for violence come from a dangerous, and misguided fringe

Aug 28, 2025, 4:26 PM

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The Wizard of Oz wears a shtreimel: The crisis of the Haredi leadership

Illustrative: Tens of thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Belz Hasidic Dynasty take part in the wedding ceremony of the grandson of the Belz Rabbi in Jerusalem on May 29, 2018. Photo by Aharon Krohn/Flash90

If effective leadership is measured by how it confronts crisis, those who represent the ultra-Orthodox are failing miserably

Feb 29, 2024, 10:45 AM

Rabbinic elites vs. traditionalists: IDF conscription law reveals rifts in Shas

A letter was recently published, signed by leading rabbis in the Sephardi Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community – two of whom are members of the Shas Council of Torah Sages – calling Moshe Arbel, a Shas-Party minister in Knesset, "one who...

Jun 27, 2023, 4:38 PM

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Succession: How the Haredim lost the plot

Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, head of the Ponevez Yeshiva seen at his home in Bnei Brak, December 5, 2018. (Aharon Krohn/Flash90)

Rabbi Edelstein's death marks the end of the era of uncontested leadership by a single 'Rabbinical Giant'

Mar 26, 2023, 3:01 PM

Faust is dressed like an ultra-Orthodox Jew

Is it possible to pinpoint the exact time that a model society loses its soul? Is there a defining event whereby a principled society fundamentally compromises its core values, having to decide between wishful and practical thinking? Or perhaps, it...

Feb 16, 2023, 4:35 PM

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There’s a new player in Haredi politics: Voters

Shas chief Aryeh Deri seen outside his home in Jerusalem on January 18, 2023, hours after the High Court ruled he cannot serve as minister. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Aryeh Deri is now the 'Creator’s Emissary on Earth.' An MK invites constituents to WhatsApp him. It's a political earthquake.

Dec 20, 2022, 4:03 PM

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In Bnei Brak I founded the shtetl-state

UTJ chairman Rabbi Yitzchak Goldknopf arrives to the coalition talks at a hotel in Jerusalem on November 9, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

In the crucial effort to increase ultra-Orthodox employment, why improve skill levels when you can simply lower the hiring standards?

Sep 30, 2022, 3:03 PM

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Giving up on the core curriculum? Just wait for the Big Bang!

Ultra-Orthodox students seen learning in the classroom of a Haredi 'Talmud Torah,' in Beitar Illit. (Nati Shohat/ Flash90)

The ultra-Orthodox birth rate means Haredi parties will soon get enough votes to run separately and pass the threshold. Then watch how secular subjects take hold

Aug 5, 2022, 5:35 PM

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Does it matter how many people attended Haredi rabbi Tuvia Weiss’ funeral?

Ultra-Orthodox mourners surround the body of Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss, during his funeral procession in Jerusalem, on July 31, 2022. (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

A simple head-count fails to capture the influence of his fringe group and its influence on the mainstream

About Me

Eliyahu Berkovits is a researcher in the ultra-Orthodox program in Israel and the Program for Religion and State at the Israel Democracy Institute, and a doctoral student in the Department of Jewish Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.