Moshe Gafni
Moshe Gafni is an Israeli politician, Member of the Knesset, and leader of the Ashkenazi Haredi party United Torah Judaism.
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Stories...
Oct 5, 2026
Lean Left
Gafni is pushing for Haredi draft exemption laws that threaten to collapse the coalition if not passed.
Labor/Meretz opposes the draft exemptions as unequal burden-sharing and a betrayal of secular Israelis.
Oct 1, 2026
Center
Gafni, a senior UTJ MK, has not condemned the Haredi extremists who called the IDF an enemy army in Jerusalem, reflecting the Haredi parties' silence.
Yesh Atid criticizes Gafni and UTJ for refusing to condemn anti-IDF incitement while demanding continued draft exemptions for their community.
Sep 4, 2026
Far Right
Gafni, Degel HaTorah chairman, claims Finance Ministry officials threatened to freeze yeshiva funds if he backed regional councils and Israeli agriculture.
For Religious Zionism, Gafni's revelation exposes religious-Zionist infighting and the haredi establishment's priority of yeshiva funding over national needs, undermining coalition unity.
Sep 3, 2026
Center
Face of Degel HaTorah's crisis: failing to pass draft exemption law and lacking answer to sanctions on draft dodgers prompts talk of his replacement by younger candidates.
His political weakness signals the haredi draft exemption's fragility, which Yesh Atid opposes as unequal burden-sharing.
Aug 19, 2026
Lean Left
UTJ lawmaker pushing for religious exemptions and budget increases for ultra-Orthodox institutions at expense of secular state.
Symbolizes the coalition's cynical trade-off: religious parties get funds while cutting education, health, and social services.
Aug 15, 2026
Far Right
The UTJ MK hit back at the Attorney General after her state response conditioned haredi school funding on core objectives and supervision.
Religious Zionists see him as defending Torah education against secular judicial coercion, even while they differ with haredi parties over core curriculum.
Aug 5, 2026
Far Right
As Finance Committee chairman, Moshe Gafni pushed the budget transfers including funding for haredi kindergartens, transportation, and after-school programs.
Religious Zionism sees his budget push as a legitimate coalition move, though it wants similar government support for religious Zionist education.
Jul 9, 2026
Center
The Haredi Knesset member refuses to allow any amendment to the Torah Study Basic Law that would also recognize soldiers.
Yesh Atid sees Gafni's intransigence as protecting Haredi draft exemption at the expense of national security and equality.
Jun 28, 2026
Center
UTJ MK Moshe Gafni has compared the treatment of the Haredi sector to slavery, sparking a fierce debate over Haredi enlistment and integration.
Yesh Atid denounces such rhetoric as a dangerous detachment from national responsibility, arguing that Haredi leaders must accept equal burdens instead of isolating their community.
Jun 25, 2026
Center
Closed the deal with Netanyahu to trade Haredi support for a political inquiry commission in return for draft exemption legislation.
Yesh Atid views Gafni as emblematic of the Haredi political class that extorts the state while shielding its constituents from equal burden.