The crisis of recruiting ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) in Israel is no longer just a parliamentary maneuver. Rather, in early June 2026, it turned into a violent civil disobedience that was described in Israel as striking at the state’s sovereignty.
In the town of Beit Shemesh, new police orders to proactively pursue defaulters sparked clashes that were described as “unusual.”
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According to a field report by journalist Zvika Segal on the Haredi website Bahdrei HaHaDrim, hundreds of demonstrators succeeded in storming the courtyard of the police station in Beit Shemesh following the arrest of a deserter student from Beitar Illit. They set fire to the surrounding forests and threw stones at the forces to paralyze movement on Highway No. 38.
This field explosion quickly expanded to take on the character of judicial intimidation. Dozens gathered in front of the home of Vice President of the Supreme Court, Judge Noam Solberg, in the town of Alon Shvut, causing destruction by vandalizing his yard and uprooting his trees.
This incident sparked stormy reactions. The judiciary condemned the attack, describing it as “a dangerous and unacceptable event that goes beyond the limits of legitimate protest and seeks to destabilize the security of judicial office holders and their families.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid attacked the scene, saying: “A criminal government insults a Supreme Court judge in the Knesset, and a gang of criminals evading justice attacks a Supreme Court judge in his home. No police, no law.”
In turn, the writer and researcher in Haredi affairs, Aharon Rabinovich, warned in the left-wing newspaper Haaretz that the crisis is quickly leading the entire Haredi community and Israel to the brink of conflict.
The writer quoted an informed leadership source, acknowledging the bitterness of the situation, saying: “We are out of control, and everyone is trying to show how extremist they are… We will accept any idea, because in war anything is possible.”
The collapse of the right bloc
Behind the closed walls of religious authorities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received the most serious political attack, which the Haredim see as a natural response to his “betrayal” of his promises to pass a law exempting Haredim from conscription.
The prominent political commentator in the Maariv newspaper, Matti Tochfeld, reports the scenes of a stormy meeting at the home of the head of the Council of Torah Sages, Rabbi Dov Landau, where members of the Knesset were astonished by his sharp language. He firmly announced their intention to advance the election date and dissolve the right-wing bloc.
This rabbinic coup was orchestrated by the shadow architect Moti Babchik (the strong man in the Gur Hasidic movement), driven by the instinct for revenge against Netanyahu’s previous tricks to split their ranks and dismantle their influence.
Under the weight of this collapse, the Hebrew Channel 13 broadcast, through its political correspondent, Michael Shemesh, scathing and confidential statements by the head of the Shas Party, Aryeh Deri, in which he directly attacked the Prime Minister, saying: “The Prime Minister bears responsibility for the incident with Rabbi Landau and the harsh message directed against the bloc. He made a mistake by talking about not having a majority.”
According to Haaretz, the anger extended to Deri, who openly threatened a tax rebellion and threatened to dissolve the right-wing bloc, warning: “I shout and warn the prime minister and the leaders of the right-wing parties. If you really want the right-wing bloc to continue, you must stand firmly against this criminal persecution.”
Deri also confirmed the United Torah Judaism Party’s readiness to abandon Netanyahu, saying: “They will enter into a left-wing government if a government is formed after the elections.”
Knesset member Moshe Aboutboul shared the threat on Kol Barama radio, saying: “The bloc is not a bloc. First and foremost is the issue of the Torah. Without the Torah, the bloc has no value.”
Deadly economic weapon
The Haredi disobedience did not stop at field chaos, but rather moved to planning an “open economic war” through the Haredi and party media in response to the decisions of the Legal Counsel and the Supreme Court to deprive them of financial benefits such as housing, transportation, and religious institute budgets.
The fatwas and publications, especially the cancellation of tax exemptions under Article 46, were a shock to the Haredi street.
Meir Porush’s Hamivaser newspaper openly incited the tax rebellion, asking: “Is the ultra-Orthodox public supposed to remain a huge purchasing power, paying taxes, showing loyalty, and at the same time secretly financing its oppressors?”
“Yated Ne’eman” magazine, the mouthpiece of the Degel HaTorah party, announced the rabbis’ order to form “a professional committee to study the steps that the ultra-Orthodox parties will take in response to the existential war declared by the state authorities.”
These moves coincide with reports from the Hebrew newspaper “Israel Hayom”, which revealed secret data threatening to impose a comprehensive trade boycott aimed at drying up the sales of major food consumer companies that depend on the religious shopper. Thus, the Haredim withdraw approximately 640 million shekels (about 173 million dollars) (the value of the Haredim’s consumption of the company’s products) from the “Tnuva” company, 535 million shekels (about 145 million dollars) from the “Strauss” company, and 391 million shekels (about 106 million dollars) from the “Osem” company, to cause severe damage to the capital that prompts it to put pressure on the Ministry of Finance to stop punitive measures.
The mayor of Beitar Illit, Meir Rubinstein of the Shas party, also threatened the commissioner to completely sever ties, stop local councils’ obligation to report crimes, and stop allocating municipal buildings to police stations, telling him: “You are leading all members of the ultra-Orthodox community to the path of extremism. Stop shooting.”
The great judicial trade-off
On the other hand, the secular Zionist street is in a state of turmoil. Veteran writer Ben Dror Yamani in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper believes that this rebellion represents “parasitism and extortion” that costs taxpayers a financial gap amounting to 36 billion dollars, criticizing the silence of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s police and their failure in the face of the Haredim, compared to the repression faced by the secular demonstrations.
In a desperate attempt by Netanyahu to contain the Knesset dissolution bill that was approved in its first reading, the most prominent political analyst on the Hebrew Channel 12, Amit Segal, revealed the features of a “major trade-off” that is being discussed; The Haredi parties are temporarily willing to back down from the demand to advance the election date to September, in exchange for Netanyahu offering retaliatory constitutional concessions that dismantle the judicial system.
This deal includes approving the division of the position of legal advisor to the government in the three readings within one month, and passing the “override clause” to undermine the Supreme Court and prevent it from invalidating their laws. In particular, the nursery law and the basic law for Torah study.
These moves aim to give elected officials broad powers to reduce the power of the judicial system, ensuring Netanyahu’s political survival and the Haredim’s agreement to postpone the elections until late October.
The scene indicates that Israel is facing the dilemma of unprecedented structural disintegration, in which field chaos and storming of security headquarters meet with financial and legislative rebellion. The Haredim chose comprehensive civil disobedience to impose their religious and economic independence in response to what they describe as Netanyahu’s betrayal. This clash accelerates the tearing apart of the fragile social contract and pushes Israeli society towards the brink of an inevitable civil confrontation.
