Haredi Judaism is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted halakha and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating or modern values and practices. Its members are usually referred to as ultra-Orthodox in English; however, the term "ultra-Orthodox" is considered pejorative by many of its adherents, who prefer terms like strictly Orthodox or Haredi. Haredi Jews regard themselves as the most religiously authentic group of Jews, although other movements of Judaism disagree.
Agudat Yisrael is a Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party representing Haredi Jews in Poland, originating in the Agudath Israel movement in Upper Silesia. It later became the party of many Haredim in Israel. It was the umbrella party for many, though not all, Haredi Jews in Israel until the 1980s, as it had been during the British Mandate of Palestine.
Religion in Israel is manifested primarily in Judaism, the ethnic religion of the Jewish people. The State of Israel declares itself as a "Jewish and democratic state" and is the only country in the world with a Jewish-majority population. Other faiths in the country include Islam, Christianity and the religion of the Druze people. Religion plays a central role in national and civil life, and almost all Israeli citizens are automatically registered as members of the state's 14 official religious communities, which exercise control over several matters of personal status, especially marriage. These recognized communities are Orthodox Judaism, Islam, the Druze faith, the Catholic Church, Greek Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Armenian Apostolic Church, Anglicanism, and the Baháʼí Faith.
Amnon Yitzhak is a Haredi Israeli rabbi. He is best known for his involvement in Orthodox Judaism outreach (kiruv) among Israel's Sephardi and Mizrahi populations. He and Rabbi Reuven Elbaz are considered the leaders of the Sephardi baal teshuva movement in Israel. He is involved in activities centered on helping Jews to become more religious or observant through public speaking in Israel and around the world, and his 'Shofar' organization, which distributes his lectures in various media and on the internet.
Off the derech is a Yeshiva-English expression used to describe the state of a Jew who has left an Orthodox way of life or community, and whose new lifestyle is secular, non-Jewish, or of a non-Orthodox form of Judaism. In its broadest sense it can also include those changing to a milder form of Orthodoxy. Despite the term's pejorative and controversially dichotomic and definitive nature, it has become popular in use among Orthodox people, is found in mainstream literature, and has also been reclaimed by some OTD individuals.
From the founding of political Zionism in the 1890s, Haredi Jewish leaders voiced objections to its secular orientation, and before the establishment of the State of Israel, the vast majority of Haredi Jews were opposed to Zionism, like early Reform Judaism, but with distinct reasoning. This was chiefly due to the concern that secular nationalism would redefine the Jewish nation from a religious community based in their alliance to God for whom adherence to religious laws were "the essence of the nation's task, purpose, and right to exists," to an ethnic group like any other as well as the view that it was forbidden for the Jews to re-constitute Jewish rule in the Land of Israel before the arrival of the Messiah. Those rabbis who did support Jewish resettlement in Palestine in the late 19th century had no intention to conquer Palestine and declare its independence from the rule of the Ottoman Turks, and some preferred that only observant Jews be allowed to settle there.
Mishpacha- Jewish Family Weekly is a Haredi weekly magazine package produced by The Mishpacha Group in both English and Hebrew.
The Zomet Institute is an Israeli high-tech non-profit organization specializing in IT equipment and electronic appliances designed to meet Halakha.
Hiloni, plural hilonim, is a social category in Israel, designating the least religious segment among the Jewish public. The other three subgroups on the scale of Jewish-Israeli religiosity are the masortim, "traditional"; datiim, "religious"; and haredim, "ultra-religious" ("ultra-Orthodox"). In the 2018 Israel Central Bureau of Statistics' survey, 43.2% of Jews identified as hiloni.
In Israel, the term status quo refers to a political understanding between secular and religious political parties not to alter the communal arrangement in relation to religious matters. The established Jewish religious communities in Israel desire to maintain and promote the religious character of the state, while the secular community sometimes wishes to reduce the impact of religious regulations in their everyday lives. Occasionally, one political side seeks to make changes to inter-communal arrangements, but these are often met by political opposition from the other side. The status quo preserves the established religious relations in Israel, and only small changes are usually made.
Secularism in Israel shows how matters of religion and how matters of state are related within Israel. Secularism is defined as an indifference to, rejection, or exclusion of religion and religious consideration. In Israel, this applies to the entirely secular community that identifies with no religion and the secular community within the Jewish community. When Israel was established as a new state in 1948, a new and different Jewish identity formed for the newly created Israeli population. This population was defined by the Israeli culture and Hebrew language, their experience with the Holocaust, and the need to band together against conflict with hostile neighbors in the Middle East.
Masortim is an Israeli Hebrew term for Jews who perceive and define themselves as neither strictly religious (dati) nor secular (hiloni). Their affinity is mainly to mohels and rabbis of Orthodox Judaism, and in 2015 they comprised roughly one-third of the Jewish population in Israel.
Mehadrin bus lines were a type of bus line in Israel that mostly ran in and/or between major Haredi population centers and in which gender segregation and other rigid religious rules observed by some Haredi Jews were applied from 1997 until 2011. In these sex-segregated buses, female passengers sat in the back of the bus and entered and exited the bus through the back door if possible, while the male passengers sat in the front part of the bus and entered and exited through the front door. Additionally, "modest dress" was often required for women, playing radio channels or secular music on the bus was avoided, while advertisements were censored. Mehadrin lines were generally cheaper than other lines. In early 2010, there were 56 Mehadrin buses in 28 cities across Israel operated by public transportation companies, although usually not specifically labelled.
Hiddush, meaning innovation, renewal; full name: "Hiddush – For Religious Freedom and Equality", is a trans-denominational non-profit organization founded in 2009 which aims to promote religious freedom and equality in Israel. The organization, a partnership between Israeli Jews and Jews from outside Israel, is headed by Jerusalem-based attorney and rabbi Uri Regev, former President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, as its president and CEO, and American businessman Stanley P. Gold, member of the Reform Wilshire Boulevard Temple and former Chairman of the Board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.
The Sikrikim is a Haredi Jewish militant organization based in the Israeli Haredi neighbourhoods Meah Shearim in Jerusalem and in Ramat Beit Shemesh. The anti-Zionist group is thought to have roughly 100 activist members. The Sikrikim gained international attention for acts of violence they committed against Orthodox Jewish institutions and individuals who would not comply with their demands.
Religious relations in Israel are relations between Haredim, non-Haredi Orthodox, Karaite, Ethiopian, Reform, Conservative, and secular Jews, as well as relations between different religions represented in Israel. The religious status quo, agreed to by David Ben-Gurion with the Orthodox parties at the time of Israel's declaration of independence in 1948, is an agreement on the role that Judaism would play in Israel's government and the judicial system. Tensions exist between religious and secular groups in Israel.
Mordechai Lavi is an Israeli radio broadcaster and owner and general manager of the Kikar HaShabbat news website.
Conscription of yeshiva students refers to the conscription of Orthodox yeshiva students in Israel. Since 1977, this community had been exempted from military duty or national service. In 2012, service became mandatory with a penalty of imprisonment for up to five years for draft-dodgers, although that law has never been enforced.
Hapeles is a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Jerusalem. Like other Haredi newspapers, it is not published on Shabbat, but, instead, is put out as an expanded weekend edition.
Roy Schwartz Tichon is an Israeli entrepreneur, mostly known for making an alternative for public transportation on Shabbat (Saturday) in Israel. Schwartz Tichon is the chairman of "Ve Af Al Pi Chen" cooperative, which operates buses lines that changed the Status quo (Israel).
