Ultra-Orthodox Draft

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May 21, 2025, 9:31 PM

One Nation, Unequal Sacrifice

I just returned from Jerusalem, where I had the honor of serving as a voting delegate at the 17th Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress. It was a powerful experience—an inspiring convergence of Jewish leaders from 72 countries,...

May 16, 2025, 7:30 AM

Avigdor Liberman for prime minister?

Avigdor Liberman speaks in front of the Knesset on May 14, 2025. (Itzhak Harari / Wikimedia Commons)

Recently, Avigdor Liberman announced that he is running for prime minister in the next elections. His party, Yisrael Beytenu, literally “Israel, Our Home” is climbing in the polls. A survey from Maariv showed that it is now the largest opposition...

Sam Lehman-Wilzig

May 9, 2025, 1:55 PM

The Politics of the (Un)Educated Voter

In politics, an issue can be so fraught with emotion that it sucks the air out of other related topics. Such is the case with the “Draft Exemption” law the government has been (so far unsuccessfully) attempting to pass...

May 8, 2025, 12:12 AM

The Torah was not meant to fund a welfare state

Worshippers from the Toldos Aharon Hasidic group carry Torah scrolls as they dance during Simhat Torah celebrations in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood, October 24, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

There is something quietly astonishing about the way the Haredi community in Israel envisions the future. In a country founded by secular revolutionaries, defended by conscripted soldiers, and sustained by a tech-focused economy pushing it into the 21st century,...

Sam Lehman-Wilzig

May 2, 2025, 7:50 AM

Israel’s Election Campaign Just Started (Here’s How and Why)

You most probably read the headline right here in The Times of Israel three days ago but weren’t aware of its electoral import. So here it is again: Dermer predicts war will be over in a year, regional peace...

Menachem Bombach

Apr 28, 2025, 10:41 PM

Beyond Walls: The New Haredi Manifesto

I am Haredi and I am Israeli. These are not contradictory identities. Despite what they might try to tell you. Despite what the political operatives, politicians, Haredi media, and secular media might say. I reject the unfortunate narrative that...

Apr 24, 2025, 7:06 PM

The Unfair Standards Held Against Haredim

Often times, I am at a Shabbat meal or another gathering and I hear people around me complaining that the Haredi population here in Israel generally do not serve in the IDF. The most frequent gripe? That many in...

Apr 16, 2025, 9:44 PM

Ultra-Orthodox Draft Evasion is a Symptom, Not Only a Problem

While Israelis continue to demand the return of the 59 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, to fight on multiple fronts, and to serve months in reserve duty, the issue of close to 70,000 exemptions from army service...

Kenneth Brander

Apr 15, 2025, 6:59 PM

Pesach, Sacrifice and Shared Burdens

On Pesach, we celebrate freedom and survival. But we also remember the difficulty of the Exodus and the challenges along the way. This duality is central to the holiday and was powerfully embodied in many aspects of the Seder...

Moshe-Mordechai van Zuiden

Apr 15, 2025, 8:36 AM

Liberman was right!

I hate to admit it, but honor where honor is due People who always hated Netanyahu love to blame him now for decades of appeasing Chamas, but the truth is that was the Israeli consensus. 'Any ceasefire, no matter how...

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