(September 10, 2026)
The Tuesday trifecta – sanctions, weird party slate and the Haaretz Oct. 7 bombshell – could have more impact later.
Archiv: United Torah Judaism (political party)
Coalition strengthens as People of Israel crosses threshold, despite Likud dropping one seat – poll
After the submission of party lists ahead of the Knesset elections, the coalition bloc has strengthened by three seats to 50, following People of Israel’s crossing of the electoral threshold. This is according to a Maariv poll conducted by Lazar Research, headed by Dr. Menachem Lazar, in cooperation with Panel4ALL.
However, Likud has lost one seat, falling to just 19, its lowest figure since May 29, 2025.
Trump‘s Iran decision could set Israel‘s election date
(May 5, 2026)
If he decides to act, the US president will pull Israel into a state of alert that will delay the Knesset‘s dissolution and lead to the election being held as scheduled in October. If Trump chooses not to strike Iran again, Netanyahu will lead Israel to an election on Sept. 1. Sources who have spoken with Netanyahu recently say the prime minister is leaning toward moving up the election, partly due to the erosion of his security achievements.
Coalition moves to kill charge central to Netanyahu corruption trial
In their statement, the bill’s sponsors described the offense as a vague legal tool that has long enabled prosecutors to target elected officials for behavior that is ethically questionable but not clearly criminal. They called for a “rapid legislative process,” framing the move as an overdue correction to what they labeled an overreach by law enforcement.
Critics say the bill appears tailor-made to benefit Netanyahu, who is accused of exploiting his public position for personal gain
Coalition advances bill to repeal criminal charge that Netanyahu is on trial for
Coalition lawmakers are advancing a bill to repeal the crime of fraud and breach of trust – one of the charges that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently on trial for.
With only 73 votes in favor, motion to expel Hadash-Ta’al chair Ayman Odeh fails to pass
The petition was put forth in January, when Odeh said he was “happy for the release of hostages and prisoners” as part of the Gaza truce that was signed that month. The petition clinched the required number of signatures after Odeh said at an anti-war protest in Haifa in May that “Gaza has won and Gaza will win.”
Both United Torah Judaism and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White—National Unity party boycott the vote, while Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and most of his Yesh Atid party’s MKs are absent as well.
The measure is supported by the coalition and by opposition party Yisrael Beytenu. The Democrats vote against it.
Netanyahu Survives a Vote to Dissolve Parliament but Emerges Weakened
By bringing the bill to a vote, the opposition parties planned to exploit a fight within the governing coalition over the contentious, decades-old policy that has largely exempted ultra-Orthodox men who are studying religion in seminaries from compulsory military service.
Edelstein says ‘agreements reached on principles’ for Haredi draft bill, signaling end to coalition crisis
Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, who heads the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, releases a statement declaring that “after long deliberations, we have reached agreements on principles on which to base a proposal for the enlistment law,” signaling an end to the coalition crisis.
Coalition scrambles for deal with Haredim ahead of preliminary vote to dissolve Knesset
If the legislation to dissolve the Knesset passes its preliminary vote today, it would still need to pass three further votes to take effect. If it is voted down, the opposition will have to wait six months to bring another Knesset dissolution bill to a vote.
Netanyahu using Iran tension, threats to try and stop Knesset dispersion vote
The opposition bills calling for the dissolution of the Knesset are expected to be brought up between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m., with a special plenary session set to honor Argentinian President Javier Milei, who is visiting the Knesset on Wednesday. The session will also include a speech by Netanyahu.
Pressure mounts on Netanyahu as opposition moves to dissolve parliament
A member of Israel‘s right-wing coalition threatened to quit the cabinet on Wednesday and support an opposition motion to dissolve parliament tabled for next week, piling pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Latest opinion polls suggest that Netanyahu‘s coalition would lose power if an election was held today, with many voters unhappy over the continued war in Gaza prompted by the attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel in October 2023.
Shas said planning to back Knesset dissolution over stymied draft-exemption bill
Speaking with the Haaretz daily following a faction meeting held to discuss whether or not to support the UTJ-led move, a Shas source said that the party will push to dissolve the Knesset, a move that would strip the coalition of its majority and trigger new elections.
Elections may loom as senior rabbis tell Haredi UTJ party to bolt coalition
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was teetering Wednesday after the spiritual leaders of Degel Hatorah, one of the two factions that make up the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, instructed their MKs to introduce a bill to dissolve the Knesset due to the coalition’s failure to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from conscription — a longstanding UTJ goal.
On Wednesday morning, Degel Hatorah chair MK Moshe Gafni received the instructions from rabbis Moshe Hirsch, the dean of Bnei Brak’s Slabodka yeshiva, and Dov Lando, the senior leader of the so-called Lithuanian stream of non-Hasidic ultra-Orthodoxy and the chairman of the faction’s ruling Council of Torah Sages.
Of course Netanyahu should go – in an orderly process that gives our enemies cause for fear
(today)
And therefore, as was the case when he insisted on continuing to run the country while in the midst of a corruption trial, and as was the case when he pressed on with his assault on Israeli democracy and briefly fired that defense minister, so too, now, it falls to a potential few good men and women within his own coalition base to tell him that his presence is harming Israel, that his policies empowered and emboldened Hamas, and that far from being uniquely capable of ensuring Israel has the practical and diplomatic room to destroy Hamas, he is almost uniquely incapable of doing so.
Netanyahu Must Go
(09.04.2024)
Israel must destroy Hamas as a military and political force in the territory while minimizing harm to civilians. It must do what it can to rescue its hostages without jeopardizing the overriding goal of destroying Hamas. It must, by diplomacy or force, push Hezbollah back from Lebanon’s southern border, so that 60,000 Israelis can return safely to their homes in the north. It must take the battle directly, as it did last week in Damascus, to Hamas’s and Hezbollah’s patrons, whether in Syria, Qatar or Iran.
And for all of that to happen effectively, Benjamin Netanyahu must go.
No-confidence motion against Netanyahu fails in Knesset, with only 18 votes in favor
With the government’s popularity plummeting, a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nevertheless garnered only 18 votes in the Knesset on Monday evening, falling far short of the necessary majority to pass in the 120-strong Knesset plenum.
The vote was boycotted by the coalition, whose heads stated earlier in the day that they would “not take part in political theater during wartime.”
Cabinet approves deal for release of 50 hostages in exchange for multi-day ceasefire
In exchange, Israel has agreed to a ceasefire for at least four days for the first time since the outbreak of the war.
Obviously we won’t know until more details come out but since the unity government is with Benny Gantz and not Yair Lapid that means that Ben Gvir and Smotrich will remain in government. That’s horrible for a host of reasons
It‘s not clear to me who is and isn‘t in it. Not Lapid (yet), Liberman, nor Michaeli, but Ben Gvir and Smuthrich? What kind of ‚unity‘ is that? We are used to Gantz immediately taking action. As soon as he can move up a step, he forgets principles and agreements.
Israeli Minister Accuses AG of Delaying Gender-segregated Parks Pilot Panned by Justice Ministry
Silman wrote a letter to Baharav-Miara on Wednesday, stating that the project had been initiated „following appeals by Haredi and Arab communities.“
However, it has come to light that an extreme right-wing organization has significantly influenced this project.
Exclusive: Pilot program for gender-segregated bathing gets underway
(01.08.2023)
The program, which seeks to touch on a sensitive issue as more religious circle call for segregated bathing hours while liberal groups see this as a slipper slope toward the sidelining of women, will not impact the existing arraignment for mixed-gender bathers as it will take place only between 6 pm to 9 pm and later. Israeli natural springs are usually closed for bathers by 5 p.m.
They Incited Rabin‘s Murder. Now They‘re Murdering Israel‘s Democracy
Following Rabin’s murder, the public turned against Netanyahu. Many believed his political career was over. But he was soon brought to power amid a wave of terror by Hamas and a slick campaign capitalizing on the public‘s fears.
And that original assault against democracy, secular law and territorial compromise that launched both Netanyahu’s career and the ascent of the religious right, is today continuing its illiberal advance via a legal hijacking.
Protest at the Knesset as Netanyahu government passes a budget granting exorbitant allocations to West Bank settlements and to the ultra-Orthodox communities
Thousands of Israelis Protesting Outside Knesset Ahead of Crucial State Budget Vote
The demonstrators are protesting the government’s proposed state budget that is slated to send billions of shekels to the ultra-Orthodox communities. Protest organizers said in a statement that this “isn’t a state budget [that’s being put up for a vote], but rather raiding the public coffers that will destroy Israel’s economy for generations to come.”
20th Week of Protests – ‚Robbing Our Children of Their Futures, With Our Money‘: Israelis Protest Controversial Budget, Judicial Overhaul
he Knesset is slated to devote several days next week to debating and passing the budget.
Despite the tension, leaders of all the coalition parties expect the budget to pass next week and say the government is at no real risk of falling. “In the long run, things can’t work this way, but at least for now, the budget will pass,” one minister said. “There’s no immediate threat to the government.”
Reporter for right-wing network attacked while covering anti-government protest
Shalev said he is accustomed to facing animosity at anti-government demonstrations because he reports for Channel 14, which critics consider a mouthpiece for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but that the incident the night before had for the first time included physical violence.
He said protesters used their flagpoles to beat him and his crew on the head and body.
“At that point I felt afraid. Until now I have not felt afraid in all the demonstrations I have been to, but here with the flags when it reached the physical level I started to be afraid,” Shalev said.
Israel Moves Forward With Far-Right Plan for National Guard
(02.04.2023)
The form and leadership of the national guard were yet to be determined and will take months to be fleshed out by a committee of government officials, who will then present their proposal for the cabinet’s approval.
Regardless of the form the guard ultimately takes, the government’s decision on Sunday reflected the influence that figures like Mr. Ben-Gvir, a once-marginal activist, wield within the most right-wing government in Israeli history.
Ministers approve Ben Gvir-led national guard, major budget cuts to fund it
After a heated discussion at their weekly cabinet meeting, ministers voted Sunday in favor of forming a national guard under the command of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, along with a major budget cut across all ministries to fund it.
The controversial force is expected to comprise 2,000 servicemembers who will report directly to the far-right minister and will be tasked with tackling “nationalist crime” and terrorism, and “restoring governance where needed.”
Thousands Rally Against Forming Fascist Ben Gvir-led National Guard
(31.03.2023)
Addressing the protest, the head of the Hadash-Ta’al parliamentary faction likened the National Guard to “the brown shirts” of the Nazi paramilitary, “or the yellow shirts,” MK Ayman Odeh said in reference to the color included in the logo of several Israeli nationalist groups, including the Jewish supremacist Kach movement that Ben Gvir was active in as a teen. Kach was founded by the late extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane, who Ben Gvir and other members of his Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party have described themselves as disciples of. “We won’t allow you to form fascist militias in the service of Kahanism,” Odeh said at the protest.
Israel‘s AG, Police and Shin Bet Chiefs Oppose Establishing National Guard Under Ben-Gvir
Ben-Gvir‘s proposal to establish a national guard will be discussed Sunday during the weekly cabinet meeting.
Israel‘s Opposition Overtakes Netanyahu Bloc to Reach Majority, Polls Show
According to the polls, conducted by Channel 12 and public broadcaster Kan, if an election were held today, the parties that make up the current ruling coalition – Netanyahu’s Likud, Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit, Shas and United Torah Judaism – would amass a total of just 54 seats, seven short of the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The opposition, made up of National Unity, Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beytenu, Meretz, Ra’am and Labor, is projected to win 61 seats. Hadash-Ta’al would garner the remaining five seats.
Israel‘s Night of Chaos: Growing Calls Inside Netanyahu‘s Coalition to Delay Judicial Overhaul After Defense Minister‘s Sacking, Massive Protests
Netanyahu ally and chairman of ultra-Orthodox party Shas, Arye Dery, reportedly expressed support for halting the process, as did ministers Ron Dermer and Yoav Kish of Likud who spoke to Netanyahu on the subject, according to a source in the party.
Meanwhile, United Torah Judaism party‘s Degel Hatorah faction expressed support for the „prime minister and his decisions,“ while far-right coalition party Otzma Yehudit called on Netanyahu not to stop the legislation.
Israel‘s Religious and Far-right Parties Demand Law to Legitimize Gender Segregation
In exchange for joining the coalition, the far-right Religious Zionism and United Torah Judaism parties have demanded legislation that gender separation at public events will not be considered discrimination. Likud has not yet decided whether to grant the demand.