Israel’s Finance Ministry said on Wednesday it was cutting funds to seminary students exempt from compulsory military service, in the latest battle between the Jewish state’s secular majority and an ultra-Orthodox minority. Seminary students, many of whom rely on state stipends, have for decades been excused from army service under blanket exemptions that have long…
Days after ultra-Orthodox troops barred a female Border Police member from entering their dining hall for dinner, Israel Defense Forces officials insist that the Haredi Netzah Yehuda Battalion’s base is not off limits to women. The incident occurred last week, when a Border Police unit, comprising several male members and one female member, completed an…
(JTA) — In a city with a seemingly infinite number of kosher restaurants, Jerusalem restaurateurs have a tough time obtaining certification from the country’s Chief Rabbinate. Proprietors of the city’s eateries have long complained of exorbitant fines, strict limits on what food they may buy and lax certification supervisors. But they had no choice: the…
Due to the delay in the passage of Israel’s new draft-reform bill, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has decided to defer the conscription of yeshiva students who have already received their draft notices until November. During the course of this year, 560 yeshiva students received draft notices in accordance with the Defense Service Law, which states…
Haredi lawmakers tore their clothes as a sign of mourning and held a special prayer service after the Knesset approved Yesh Atid’s draft-reform bill on its first reading by a vote of 64 to 21 on Tuesday morning. MK Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) also handcuffed himself to the microphone as he spoke from the…
Elementary and middle school students in a New York haredi Orthodox school demonstrated against an Israeli bill aiming to draft haredim into the Israel Defense Forces. Students at United Talmudical Academy in Spring Valley, N.Y. held signs and listened to their rabbis give speeches outside their school on Wednesday, according to the Mid-Hudson News. The…
After years of debate, pressure and protest, on Sunday Israel’s cabinet approved legislation to draft ultra-Orthodox men for national service. The lobby that agitated for legislation has been quick to label it a sellout, counter-productive, and a passing of the buck. Pro-draft activists say that they wanted a law that makes service for Haredim compulsory…
Was the weekend rally in New York against Israel’s plans to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews boosted by a prominent rabbi’s forged endorsement? According to a writer on the Hasidic Yiddish forum KaveShtiebel.com, a letter in support of the Satmar-led demonstration by Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the foremost leaders of the Lithuanian Haredi sector, was forged….
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