Orthodox Jews

The massive rally of the Haredi community in Israel on Thursday was not merely another episode in the long-running conflict between secular and religious Israelis.  It revealed something deeper: a tectonic shift driven by dramatic demographic change, internal fractures within the Haredi community, and the unravelling of a political bargain that for decades linked the state’s ruling coalitions to Haredi parties. For decades, the political architecture that sustained Haredi political power rested on a simple transactional logic: in return for predictable Knesset support, Haredi parties secured budgets, institutional autonomy, and protections for religious life.  Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long tenure, that arrangement - fed by growing state resources and generous allocations to Haredi education and social systems - became entrenched.