Haredim

Ofri Meoded Danon and his mother celebrate his bar mitzvah at the egalitarian plaza of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel in May 2023. (Courtesy of Meoded Danon)

Inside Story

Red tape keeps non-Orthodox worshipers a stone’s throw from the Western Wall

5 years after stone collapse at holy site, authorities have yet to reopen access to Wall at egalitarian section; religious activists argue delay is deliberate

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Israelis attend a protest against the government's judicial overhaul plans, in Tel Aviv, on June 17, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

June 25, 2023, 2:08 pm

The No-Longer Silent Majority

Has liberal Israel finally awakened, and is it ready for the long, hard work of transforming Israeli society? Donniel Hartman, Yossi Klein Halevi, and Elana Stein Hain discuss.

June 23, 2023, 9:56 am

Red tape keeps non-Orthodox worshipers a stone’s throw from the Western Wall

5 years after stone collapse at holy site, authorities have yet to reopen access to Wall at egalitarian section; religious activists argue delay is deliberate

By Canaan Lidor

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, shakes hands with United Torah Judaism MKs Yisrael Eichler, center and Meir Porush in the Knesset, January 25, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90/File)

June 7, 2023, 1:44 pm

The Rise of Haredi Power

Will the Haredi community’s surging population mean the inevitable end of liberal Israel? Donniel Hartman, Yossi Klein Halevi, and Elana Stein Hain discuss.

Tirtza Carmi, a resident of Harish, and a friend wear t-shirts reading, 'Freedom fighter' to a demonstration against religious coercion in Harish, Israel, on May 27, 2023. (Canaan Lidor/Times of Israel)

May 29, 2023, 2:49 am

Play center in Harish becomes unlikely battleground for Haredi and secular residents

Fast-growing and diverse, the city that started out as an army outpost is seen as a test case for coexistence, after an altercation over Shabbat observance makes national news

By Canaan Lidor

Moshe Mordechai Elhadad, 12 at the time of his death in 2021, is one of the 45 people who perished in the Mount Meron disaster in northern Israel on Lag B'Omer. (Courtesy of Shimon Elhadad)

May 3, 2023, 8:30 pm

On Meron disaster anniversary, relatives of victims connect to the site ‘even more’

Still processing the loss of 45 lives during 2021 pilgrimage, family members of the deceased say the tragedy has only strengthened their devotion to the event

By Canaan Lidor

The cover of Dovi Safier's book, 'Mother of All Yeshivos' (Screenshot from Twitter)

April 12, 2023, 2:10 am

In rare move, Haredi mag publishes photo of woman — a philanthropist of 1920s America

Mishpacha praised by women’s advocates for featuring story on Jennie Miller Faggen, who supported dozens of European yeshivas in the early 20th century

By Jackie Hajdenberg

Locals handing out snacks and water to protesters against Israel's judicial overhaul on March 23, in Bnei Brak, Israel. (Haim Uzan)

March 30, 2023, 1:46 pm

Bnei Brak presents: How to turn a tense anti-overhaul rally into a ‘cholent party’

A grassroots charm offensive in the predominantly ultra-Orthodox city had locals handing out treats to thousands of protesting out-of-towners

By Canaan Lidor

From L-R President Isaac Herzog, MK Simcha Rothman, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, National Unity leader Benny Gantz (Flash 90)

February 15, 2023, 1:33 pm

Daily Briefing Feb. 15: Can Herzog change the course of judicial reform?

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur discusses the president’s efforts to mediate the contested plan; health and science writer Nathan Jeffay looks at the results of 3 new studies

By ToI Staff

Ultra-Orthodox students in Jerusalem's Neve Yaakov neighborhood on August 9, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

February 1, 2023, 6:53 am

Battle over municipal funding for Haredi schools foreshadows local election showdown

Prominent ultra-Orthodox MK’s threat to mayors could backfire, as factions mobilize to address what some see as a threat to the secular way of life

By Tal Schneider

Police guard while Haredi men protest against a cellular shop in Jerusalem's Geula neighborhood, on January 15, 2023 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

January 16, 2023, 2:01 am

Haredi protesters clash with police outside Jerusalem cellphone store

Demonstrators rage against sale of devices that can access the internet; Ben Gvir orders police to probe treatment of protesters

By ToI Staff

Yehoshua Dadon seen following a hearing at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, days before being indicted over a fire that destroyed a cell phone store in the Geula neighborhood in Jerusalem, December 18, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

December 23, 2022, 4:00 pm

Haredi man whose arrest sparked riot indicted for arson of Jerusalem cellphone store

Yehoshua Dadon also charged with extortion by threats and obstruction of justice over torching of shop that sells ‘non-kosher’ phones

By ToI Staff

Ultra-Orthodox rioters clash with police in Jerusalem, December 15, 2022. (Israel Police)

December 20, 2022, 12:04 pm

Family of woman injured in Haredi protest defends culprits: ‘They didn’t mean harm’

Relatives of Mirel Dzalovsky, who remains unconscious and on a ventilator, say those using incident to advance their agenda are ‘fanning the flames of hate’

By ToI Staff

The scene in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood where a 40-year-old woman was hit by a dumpster that was pushed by ultra-Orthodox rioters, December 16, 2022. (Flash90)

December 19, 2022, 5:40 am

Clip shows moment burning dumpster pushed by ultra-Orthodox rioters hits J’lem woman

40-year-old mother of 10 still hospitalized in serious condition; police issue gag order on investigation into incident; nephew blames ‘anarchists’ dressed as Haredim

By ToI Staff

December 16, 2022, 4:18 pm

Condemnation pours in after woman seriously hurt by Jerusalem ultra-Orthodox rioters

Outgoing PM Lapid, PM-designate Netanyahu, urge authorities to harshly punish perpetrators, as passerby, a mother of 10, hit by burning trash bin and hospitalized

By ToI Staff

Head of the Otzma Yehudit party MK Itamar Ben Gvir speaks to the press after a meeting with President Isaac Herzog at the President's residence in Jerusalem on November 10, 2022, as Herzog consulted political leaders on who to task with trying to form a new government. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

November 14, 2022, 1:00 pm

Daily Briefing Nov. 14: Ben Gvir may not be welcome in US; Israel calls out Kyiv

US correspondents Jacob Magid and Luke Tress discuss midterm election results in the House and New York, along with American reactions to Ben Gvir and a tiff at the UN

By ToI Staff