Overview
- A Supreme Court recording during Sunday’s hearing on the draft law and yeshiva funding caught attorney Chagai Kalai saying, “We will dismantle the world of Torah,” while he consulted with fellow petitioner lawyer Gilad Barnea.
- Shas, Degel HaTorah, and United Torah Judaism condemned the remark and said it proves the petitions are an ideological bid to weaken the yeshiva world rather than a move about military needs.
- UTJ leader Yitzchak Goldknopf urged the Court to void the proceedings and fine the petitioners, and other Haredi figures demanded formal sanctions after the hot-mic leak.
- The petitions by Free Israel and Alert Mothers ask the Court to cut state stipends for yeshiva students who do not serve in the IDF, and the case continues under sharper public scrutiny.
- Coverage in Orthodox outlets stressed motive and judicial bias, and some reports highlighted Kalai’s past LGBTQ-related litigation as context, while Haredi commentators warned of harsh enforcement scenarios and families losing vital stipends.