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Party Matcher

Degel HaTorah

United Torah Judaism – Agudat Yisrael – Degel HaTorah
Leader
Yaakov Asher
List
United Torah Judaism – Agudat Yisrael – Degel HaTorah
Researched as of
October 7, 2026

Running on a joint list with Agudat Yisrael and Chomat Torat Yisrael as United Torah Judaism – Agudat Yisrael – Degel HaTorah.

Overview

Degel HaTorah (Hebrew: דגל התורה, "Banner of the Torah"; registered name "אגודת החרדים – דגל התורה") is a Haredi party that represents the non-Hasidic, "Lithuanian" stream of the Ashkenazi Haredi community. Rabbi Elazar Shach founded it in 1988 after a rift between him and Agudat Yisrael. It won two seats in its first election in 1988, the only one in which it ran alone [12]. The party's newspaper is Yated Ne'eman [46].

How the party is run. Degel HaTorah's decisions are made by its rabbinic leadership, not by party primaries. Its spiritual leaders have included Rabbi Shach and Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv [12, 13]. Today the leading figures are Rabbi Dov Lando and Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch [23, 28]. In September 2026 it was Rabbi Lando who decided the make-up of the party's Knesset slate (see Leadership) [4, 5].

Ideology. The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) describes United Torah Judaism (UTJ), the joint list Degel HaTorah runs on, as working for the interests of the public it represents in education and welfare, for keeping the exemption from IDF service for its young men, and for preserving the religious character of the state. It describes the list's foreign and security positions as "in the center", with decisions guided by religious rather than security considerations, and says the list has tended to support the right since 1977 because the right is more conservative on religion and state [15]. Its campaign slogan in September 2026 was "The right to be Haredi" [9].

Base of support. The party draws most of its support from the Lithuanian (non-Hasidic) stream of Haredi Judaism [12].

Current Knesset seats. United Torah Judaism won 7 seats in the November 2022 election, with 280,194 votes (5.9%) [15]. Four of those seven seats belong to Degel HaTorah [23, 29]. Since 16 July 2026 Degel HaTorah has sat as its own Knesset faction, separate from Agudat Yisrael (see below) [18, 73].

Joint list. Degel HaTorah runs on the United Torah Judaism list, "יהדות התורה והשבת אגודת ישראל – דגל התורה", under the ballot letter ג [1, 3]. The CEC filing for the 2026 election shows that three registered parties submitted the list: Degel HaTorah, Agudat Yisrael (the Hasidic party) and Chomat Torat Yisrael [1]. Chomat Torat Yisrael is a separate party announced on 8 September 2026 by Meir Porush (Shlomei Emunim faction) and Elyakim Stark (Belz Hasidic community), who until then were inside Agudat Yisrael [76]. Under a rotation arrangement between the two main partners, the list is led by whichever party's turn it is. In 2026 it is Degel HaTorah's turn, so Degel HaTorah chair Yaakov Asher heads the whole list [5].

History of splitting and re-uniting. Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael have run together as UTJ since the 1992 election [15]. Knesset faction records show that their joint Knesset faction has nevertheless been formally divided into separate Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah factions ten times, each time but one shortly before an election [72, 73]. The dates are below; the July 2026 split is not yet shown in the faction records:

  • 8 April 1996 and 23 February 1999: separate factions shortly before the 1996 and 1999 elections [72].
  • 12 January 2005: the faction split in the middle of the 16th Knesset [72]. Globes reported that Degel HaTorah's MKs Avraham Ravitz and Moshe Gafni asked for the split on Rabbi Elyashiv's instruction, after Agudat Yisrael's Yaakov Litzman took up the post of Finance Committee chair without waiting three months, as the rabbi had told Degel HaTorah's own MKs to do before taking coalition posts [13]. The parties ran together again in the 2006 election, and a joint faction sat in the next Knesset [72].
  • 18 December 2008: the Knesset House Committee approved the split ten days before lists were due for the 18th Knesset election. The dispute was over which party would get the sixth place on the joint list [16, 72]. A joint faction was formed again after the election [72].
  • 9 January, 10 July and 30 December 2019: separate factions before each of that period's three elections [72].
  • 28 December 2020: the Knesset approved a split into separate Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah factions. Maariv described it as "technical only, for party-funding purposes" [17, 72].
  • 15 August 2022: separate factions again before the November 2022 election [72].
  • 16 July 2026: the Knesset House Committee approved UTJ's request to split into Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael factions again, at a late-evening session [18, 73]. MK Uri Maklev (Degel HaTorah) called it a technical step before the 26th Knesset election: "We are not divorcing but ... separating for a period" [18].
  • After each split through 2022 the parties ran together again and formed a joint faction in the next Knesset [72]. They filed a joint list again on 8 September 2026 [3].

Polling

Polling average: 6% (as of October 2, 2026). Source: Mean of 5 polls published 2026-09-28 to 2026-10-02

Polls included in the average
  • Lazar Research (led by Dr. Menachem Lazar) · Maariv · 2026-09-30–10-01 · 602 respondents · margin of error ±4.0% · published Oct 2, 2026
  • Next Data · Channel 14 (Arutz Achshav 14) · 2026-10-01 · 2145 respondents · margin of error ±2.1% · published Oct 1, 2026
  • Direct Polls (led by Tzuriel Sharon) · i24NEWS (Middle East News 24 Ltd.) · 2026-10-01 · 504 respondents · margin of error ±4.3% · published Oct 1, 2026
  • Maagar Mochot (led by Prof. Yitzhak Katz) · Channel 16 · 2026-09-29 · 550 respondents · margin of error ±4.2% · published Sep 29, 2026
  • Next Data · Channel 14 (Arutz Achshav 14) · 2026-09-28 · 573 respondents · margin of error ±4.1% · published Sep 28, 2026

Leadership and key candidates

Leader: Yaakov Asher (born 2 July 1965, Ramat Gan). Asher became Degel HaTorah's chair in September 2026, replacing Moshe Gafni, and heads the UTJ list [5, 6].

  • Background: studied at the Mishkan Yaakov and Grodno yeshivas. His military service was as a private in the "Shlav B" track, a short service for older men [6, 10]. Ynet reports that he served briefly in the reserves after enlisting through Shlav B [6].
  • Local government: deputy head of the Elad local council, head of the Bnei Brak municipality's education department, deputy mayor and then mayor of Bnei Brak, and deputy chair of the Union of Local Authorities [10].
  • Knesset: first elected in 2013 (19th Knesset), and in the Knesset again since May 2016 [10]. He has chaired the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee. He resigned the latter post in July 2025 when Degel HaTorah left the coalition [6, 22]. He was a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, where he worked on the status of yeshiva students and was one of the leaders of the law freezing arrests of yeshiva students [6].
  • Legislation and interests (Knesset biography): chaired a sub-committee overseeing the Food Competition Law. He co-initiated consumer laws, such as a law requiring scales in food shops and a banking change freezing mortgage payments after a death. He has led a Knesset lobby on Haredi housing since 2016 and a lobby to lower food costs for people with celiac disease since 2018 [10].

How the leadership changed in September 2026. On 5 September 2026 Rabbi Dov Lando informed MKs Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev, in personal letters, that they would not be on the slate, citing "the need to refresh the ranks" [4]. Gafni had been in the Knesset since 1988 and chaired the Finance Committee for more than a decade. Maklev entered the Knesset in 2008 [5, 7]. Rabbi Lando asked Gafni to stay on as chair of Degel HaTorah's national movement [4]. Ynet reported that the change followed the failure of the draft-exemption law, and a wish in Rabbi Lando's household to bring in new faces and MKs more loyal to it [6]. The Times of Israel reported that Gafni and Maklev had favoured continued dialogue and compromise with the government, while Rabbi Lando's associates pushed for a more confrontational line [7].

Top of the joint list (CEC filing, 9 September 2026) [1, 3]:

  1. Yaakov Asher (Degel HaTorah).
  2. Yitzhak Goldknopf (Agudat Yisrael).
  3. Yitzhak Pindrus (Degel HaTorah).
  4. Meir Porush (Chomat Torat Yisrael).
  5. Moshe Azriel Rosenthal (Degel HaTorah).
  6. Eli (Elyakim) Stark (Chomat Torat Yisrael).

Yitzhak Pindrus (born 1971, Jerusalem). He was mayor of Beitar Illit (2001–2007) and deputy and acting mayor of Jerusalem, where he held the Haredi education and sanitation portfolios [11]. He ran the housing project of the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs and was its director, and he served in the IDF from April 1998 to December 1999 [11]. He has been in the Knesset on and off since 2019 and chaired the UTJ faction [11]. His Knesset biography describes him as standing firmly with settlement representatives and as a bridge between the Haredi community and the Haredi-nationalist (Hardal) public [11]. Statements: in a June 2023 Channel 12 interview he said that "the most dangerous thing to the State of Israel — more than Islamic State, more than Hezbollah, more than Hamas — is the permissiveness regarding arayot" (sexual relations forbidden by Jewish law), and that he wanted "not only [to] prevent the Pride parade, but in general to prevent this movement" [66]. In June 2026 Yesh Atid MK Adi Azuz asked him whether police should shoot protesters who block roads, including UTJ's then-chair Yitzhak Goldknopf, who had led a Haredi protest that blocked Route 1. Pindrus replied: "Sure, but start with Naama Lazimi", an opposition MK [67].

Moshe Azriel Rosenthal is a new candidate in fifth place [1]. Ynet reported before the list was filed that the party was considering new candidates including "Rabbi Moshe Rosenthal", head of the Bnei Brak municipality's education administration [5]; no source checked confirms that this is the same person. No further public background on him was found.

Former leader Moshe Gafni is still chair of the party's national movement [4]. His record and statements as party chair until September 2026 appear throughout this document.

Spiritual leadership. Rabbi Dov Lando is the party's senior rabbinic authority; he decided its 2026 slate and its exit from the government [4, 22]. In July 2026 he said that soldiers sent to war "for the honor of the state" who kill people commit "murder". Degel HaTorah, then led by Gafni, called his words "holy" and said those unfamiliar with the religious context should not rush to interpret them [68]. In October 2026 he said Zionism "made Arabs hate us", and that Religious Zionist soldiers "are killed because their rabbis teach them a distorted Torah" [69].

Positions on the issues

Cost of living

Action: In UTJ's 2022 coalition agreement with Likud, the government committed to the steps below. This document quotes the agreement text dated 21 December 2022, as published by Mako [19]; the final agreement was signed on 28 December 2022, and its clause numbers differ [20, 77].

  • cancel the purchase taxes on disposable tableware and sweetened drinks;
  • expand funding for charities that hand out holiday food baskets and food vouchers (up to NIS 100 million);
  • look at subsidising gluten-free food for people with celiac disease, including price supervision or vouchers;
  • freeze the previous government's agricultural reforms until a new reform striking "the right balance between lowering prices and strengthening Israeli farmers" was drawn up [19];
  • budget at least NIS 1 billion a year, in the permanent budget base, for the Interior Ministry to hand out rechargeable cards for food and essential goods, "as part of the war on poverty" [19].

Party MK Yitzhak Pindrus had named the drinks and tableware taxes as grievances against the outgoing government on election night in November 2022 [21].

Action: The agreement also commits to a 50% public-transport discount for yeshiva students and avreichim (married men studying full time), and to subsidising public transport in the periphery [19].

Action: All UTJ MKs voted for the 2025 state budget on 25 March 2025, which passed 66–52. It followed tax increases that took effect on 1 January 2025, including a rise in VAT (the tax added to almost everything you buy) from 17% to 18%. Alongside the budget, the cabinet approved NIS 5 billion in coalition funds, including more than NIS 1 billion for yeshivas [58]. Gafni said he had secured about NIS 1 billion for Haredi institutions in the permanent budget base [59].

Statement: At the party's campaign launch in September 2026, Gafni said that one of the things the party did before the Knesset dissolved was to prevent Finance Minister Smotrich from passing the milk reform, "which would have caused thousands of people to go bankrupt" [9].

Action: On 11 March 2024 the Knesset approved, 47–29, the order raising VAT to 18% from January 2025. Asher and Pindrus, and Degel HaTorah's then-MK Eliyahu Baruchi, voted for it [78].

Record: Asher's Knesset biography lists consumer-protection work, including chairing the sub-committee on the Food Competition Law and a lobby to cut costs for people with celiac disease [10].

Assessment: The record points mainly to targeted state help: subsidies, food aid, discounts and removing specific consumer taxes. The party secured a freeze of the previous government's agricultural reforms and says it blocked the milk reform, and its MKs voted for the 2024 order raising VAT and for the 2025 budget. No published platform on cost of living was found.

Closest option(s): Focus on direct help for households, through subsidies and support for low-income families (direct-support-for-households). Its record of cancelling specific purchase taxes also touches on cutting taxes (cut-taxes-and-government-spending). The record does not show support for opening the market to more competition and imports (open-market-competition-imports).

Crime in Arab society

Action: UTJ's 2022 coalition agreement says the government sees crime and violence in Arab society as "a central matter that must be dealt with as a top priority", and that it "will allocate resources and tools for enforcement and eradicating crime" in Arab society [19].

No other documented position found. The Knesset voting database was searched for votes on bills about crime organizations and on the Shin Bet's powers in 2024–2026. No Degel HaTorah MK voted on the crime-organization bills of 8 July 2026 [71]. Times of Israel topic pages for Degel HaTorah, Gafni, Asher and Pindrus, and Hebrew coverage of the party's 2026 campaign, were also checked. No statement by the party was found on involving the Shin Bet (Israel's internal security service), holding suspected crime bosses without trial, or the July 2026 government plan.

Closest option(s): The evidence is thin. The 2022 clause on "resources and tools for enforcement" is closest to giving the police more resources (more-police-resources-normal-law). It does not address the Shin Bet, holding people without trial, or investment in Arab communities.

Gaza Strip policy

Statement: On 25 June 2025, while opening a Finance Committee meeting, then-party chair Moshe Gafni said: "I don't understand, even to this very moment, what we are fighting for there," and asked what Israel would do "when soldiers are being killed all the time." He added: "We need a Trump to come here and say, We are returning the hostages, stopping all these things, and returning to normal" [52, 53].

Statement: In April 2025 Gafni and Uri Maklev criticised Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich after Smotrich said returning the hostages was "not the most important thing." Gafni compared this to zealots "for whom the national issue was more important than human life." Maklev said Smotrich was harming the hostages' families [54].

Background (2017, before the period this guide relies on): Gafni said that on diplomatic matters "I am closer to left-wing positions" and that "the Palestinians were here before us" [55]. He also said he would not sit with the left because of disagreements over Reform Judaism [56].

Limits of the evidence: All of these statements date from 2025 or earlier, while the war was still being fought. No statement by the party was found on the current questions: an international force, disarming Hamas (a terror organization), a Palestinian administration, or further withdrawal. Degel HaTorah has had no ministers in the government that decides these questions [6, 15].

Closest option(s): Tentative, mixed and dated. The statements are by Gafni and Maklev, who led the party until September 2026 and are not on the 2026 slate; no statement by the current chair was found. The party's statements favoured ending the fighting and putting the hostages first through a US-backed arrangement. That is closest to moving forward with the US plan (advance-international-arrangement). No evidence links the party to a Palestinian state or to full withdrawal (end-war-full-withdrawal).

Haredi military enlistment

This is the party's central issue.

Action (2022 coalition agreement): UTJ made the government commit that, before the 2023 budget passed, the Knesset would complete both a Basic Law: Torah Study (a law with constitutional status) and an amendment to the Security Service Law "to regulate the status of yeshiva students", with the agreement of all coalition parties. The clause adds that UTJ had wanted this settled even before the government was formed [19].

Action (Basic Law: Torah Study): Gafni and Asher sponsored the bill. It was published for first reading on 1 July 2026 with two sections: Torah study is "a foundational value in the heritage of the Jewish people and in the State of Israel", and the law is meant to create a "balance" against other basic values. Its explanatory notes say it responds to the High Court rulings that struck down the yeshiva-student exemption (2017) and restricted funding to students without an exemption (2024) [35]. The Knesset passed the law on 13 July 2026 by 63 to 52, after the "balance" section was removed [36, 37, 42, 75]. All four Degel HaTorah MKs voted for it [42]. Gafni called it "a historic step" [37].

Action (arrest freeze): On 14 July 2026 the Knesset passed, by 58 to 54, a temporary law freezing arrests, investigations and enforcement against yeshiva students who had been declared deserters for not reporting for service. To qualify, a student must study for at least 45 hours a week in a yeshiva (40 in a kollel) on a list set by the defense minister. The freeze runs until 30 November 2026 [38, 39, 42]. All four Degel HaTorah MKs voted for it [42]. Asher was one of its leading promoters [6], and party chair Gafni said: "the era of arrests is over: we promised and we delivered!" [2]. Before the vote, the legal advisers of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee warned that it "grants yeshiva students immunity from criminal sanctions" while those sanctions remain in force for everyone else [39]. On 15 July 2026 a High Court justice froze the law pending a hearing [40], and on 3 September 2026 a nine-justice panel struck it down unanimously [79].

Action (leaving government): On 14 July 2025, on Rabbi Lando's instruction, Degel HaTorah's MKs resigned all coalition posts and left the government. The party objected to a draft bill that would not cancel call-up orders already issued, would give the army alone control of the exemptions committee, and would set harsher funding cuts for yeshivas that missed targets. The party said the bill "deviates from the agreements and promises made by Likud and the coalition" [22, 23]. Earlier, in May 2025, the party had boycotted coalition votes over the same issue [25]. In June 2025 its rabbis told it to advance a bill to dissolve the Knesset [26]. When dissolution bills came to a vote on 12 June 2025, the party's four MKs voted against them, and the bills failed [78]; in the same week the party and Shas were reported to have endorsed a revised enlistment proposal (see below) [27].

Action / formal commitment (accepting targets): The party has at times accepted laws with enlistment targets for young men not in full-time study:

  • In June 2025 Degel HaTorah and Shas endorsed a revised version of MK Yuli Edelstein's proposal. It set rising enlistment targets and personal and institutional sanctions. Reporting at the time said the Haredi leadership felt it had "no other choice" [27].
  • On 19 November 2025 Degel HaTorah said its rabbis had given a "green light" to MK Boaz Bismuth's bill, which kept exemptions for full-time yeshiva students while setting targets for those not studying [28]. The party described its rabbis' priorities as: "those who want to study can continue to study" and "those who enlist will have a suitable framework" [28].
  • In January 2026 it still backed that bill, while Agudat Yisrael opposed any bill containing sanctions [29].

Statement: In January 2026 Gafni said that if the High Court struck down an exemption law, the government should not obey: "No. Don't obey them" [30]. In May 2026, after arrests of yeshiva students declared deserters, he told the party's local council representatives to "immediately halt all cooperation with the Israel Police ... until further notice" [31]. In May 2025 Asher said the party could not stay in a government that turns Haredim "into criminals" [25].

Action (daycare): As a UTJ MK, Gafni sponsored a 2026 bill to restore daycare subsidies to families whose fathers are yeshiva students without a deferral. The subsidies had been removed after the 2024 High Court ruling [51]. In June 2026 Degel HaTorah boycotted coalition votes to press for it [50].

Closest option(s): Pass a law letting full-time yeshiva students keep studying instead of serving, without sanctions (anchor-torah-study-exemption). The party has pragmatically accepted bills with gradual targets for Haredi men who are not in full-time study (gradual-targets-by-agreement), but only while protecting full-time students.

Housing

Action (2022 coalition agreement): UTJ's agreement makes stopping the rise in home prices a "national goal". It commits to:

  • a plan to increase housing supply with "immediate planning solutions", emphasising dense construction;
  • cutting bureaucracy and speeding up building permits;
  • funding infrastructure to release about 300,000 planned homes that are stuck;
  • easier mortgages;
  • a ministerial committee on land and housing;
  • a low-interest loan fund for developers of long-term rental housing, with an extra NIS 50 million a year to subsidise the interest;
  • locating a new Haredi city within 90 days;
  • planning targets "adjusted to the relative size" of different population groups, including in Judea and Samaria [19].

Background (candidates' record, from 2016): Asher has led the Knesset lobby on Haredi housing since 2016 [10]. Pindrus managed the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs' housing project, which aimed to influence government policy on Haredi housing shortages [11].

Scope: Several of these commitments focus on housing for the Haredi community (a Haredi city, planning by population group). Others, such as supply, permits and mortgages, apply to everyone.

Closest option(s): Build much more and faster through planning and permits (speed-up-planning-and-construction). The agreement also includes long-term rental funding (state-led-affordable-rental) and mortgage help (direct-help-for-buyers).

Iran, Hezbollah and the region

No documented position found. Sources checked:

  • the Knesset voting database;
  • Times of Israel topic pages for Degel HaTorah, Gafni, Asher and Pindrus (2023–2026);
  • Ynet and other Hebrew coverage of the party's 2026 campaign;
  • the IDI party profile.

No statement by the party was found on strategy toward Iran or Hezbollah (the Iran-backed terror organization in Lebanon), on staying in southern Lebanon, or on US-brokered deals. Related material that does not amount to a strategy:

  • In June 2025, as Interior Committee chair, Asher promised "an immediate legislative response" to compensate people whose homes were damaged by Iranian missiles [70].
  • The IDI describes the wider UTJ list as "in the center" on security, with decisions driven by religious considerations [15].
  • Rabbi Lando's July 2026 remarks about wars fought "for the honor of the state" were a general religious statement, not a policy on Iran [68].

Judea and Samaria

Action (votes on applying Israeli sovereignty): In every vote on a bill to apply Israeli sovereignty (also called annexation) in the 25th Knesset in which Degel HaTorah MKs took part, they voted against:

  • 15 March 2023, bill to apply sovereignty to the Jordan Valley: Gafni, Asher and Pindrus voted against. It failed 14–66 [43, 44, 75].
  • 22 January 2025, the same Jordan Valley bill: Asher and Pindrus voted against. It failed 32–56 [43, 75].
  • 22 October 2025, bill to apply sovereignty to "Judea and Samaria": Gafni, Asher and Maklev voted against. Degel HaTorah was outside the coalition by then. The bill passed its preliminary reading 25–24 [43, 44, 75].
  • 31 December 2025, bill to apply sovereignty to Beitar Illit, a Haredi city: Maklev voted against. It failed 8–45 [43, 75].

No Degel HaTorah MK voted on the bill to apply sovereignty to Ma'ale Adumim (22 October 2025, passed 31–9) or on a non-binding July 2025 motion supporting sovereignty in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley (passed 71–13) [43, 75]. The tallies come from the same Knesset database [75]. On the October 2025 bill, the Times of Israel quoted the Degel HaTorah faction as saying that "proposals to declare sovereignty at this time are putting us in conflict with the countries of the world, and especially with the United States" [14]. The 2023 and January 2025 votes were cast while the party was in the coalition; the database does not record reasons for votes.

Action (settlement housing): The 2022 coalition agreement applies its population-based housing targets to "marketing and approvals" in Judea and Samaria as well [19]. Beitar Illit, a Haredi city that Pindrus once led as mayor, lies in Judea and Samaria; a December 2025 bill sought to apply Israeli sovereignty to it [11, 43].

Background (2017, before the period this guide relies on): Gafni said that on diplomatic matters he was "closer to left-wing positions" and that "the Palestinians were here before us and we are the ones who removed them from here" [55]. The Likud's Haredi campaign staff criticised the remarks at the time [55]. Pindrus's Knesset biography describes him as standing firmly with settlement representatives [11]. Pindrus's biography is undated background.

No published position was found on a Palestinian state, on the Palestinian Authority, or on the long-term future of the territory.

Closest option(s): Keep things as they are: no Israeli sovereignty and no new arrangement, while settlement housing continues (maintain-current-situation). This is based on the party's consistent votes against sovereignty bills from 2023 to 2025, its stated reason in October 2025, and its support for housing in existing settlements. The evidence on a final arrangement is otherwise thin.

Judicial system

Action (coalition agreement): UTJ's 2022 agreement commits every coalition party to support the justice minister's bills on relations between the branches of government and on how judges are chosen, "to restore proper balance between the branches", including a Basic Law: Legislation and an override clause (letting the Knesset re-pass a law the court has struck down). It gives these bills "absolute priority" [19]. The agreement also backs a Likud bill letting ministry directors-general appoint ministries' legal advisers [19].

Action (votes): Degel HaTorah MKs voted for every major judicial bill they were present for [41]:

  • 20 February 2023: the first bills on judicial selection and on the separation of powers. Asher, Gafni and Pindrus voted for both.
  • 13 March 2023: a Basic Law amendment limiting judicial review of laws. All three voted for.
  • 10–11 July 2023 and 24 July 2023: the law limiting the "reasonableness" ground for cancelling government decisions. It passed 64–0 on 24 July 2023 with all three in favour [41, 75]. The Supreme Court later cancelled it.
  • 27 March 2025: the final vote on the law changing how judges are chosen (Basic Law: The Judiciary, Amendment 4). Asher and Pindrus voted for.
  • 29 October 2025: a bill to split the attorney general's role. Asher, Gafni and Maklev voted for, while the party was outside the coalition.
  • 2 June 2026 and 15 July 2026: the attorney general bills. Asher, Maklev and Pindrus voted for the bill on 2 June 2026, and all four Degel HaTorah MKs voted for the law passed on 15 July 2026, 65–51 [41, 75]. That law lets the government override the attorney general's legal opinions and decide its own positions in court [41, 48].

Statement: On 20 July 2023, Yated Ne'eman (the party's paper) asked "at what price?" the judicial changes were being pursued, given rising hostility toward Haredim. It still described the override clause as "necessary to ensure the status of yeshiva students" [46]. In January 2026 Gafni said the government should not obey High Court rulings striking down a draft-exemption law [30].

Closest option(s): Give the government and Knesset more power over the courts, including judicial selection and the attorney general's authority (continue-judicial-changes).

October 7 inquiry

Action (votes against a state commission of inquiry): Degel HaTorah MKs voted against every opposition bill to set up a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 attack. In a state commission, the President of the Supreme Court picks the members.

  • 17 July 2024: Asher and Pindrus voted against [42].
  • 12 November 2025: Gafni, Asher and Maklev voted against three such bills, while outside the coalition [42].
  • 1 July 2026: all four Degel HaTorah MKs voted against three such bills [42].

Action (vote for a Knesset-appointed commission): On 24 December 2025, Gafni, Asher and Maklev voted for the coalition's preliminary bill to create a "state-national commission of inquiry" into the October 7 attack. It passed 53–48, with one abstention [45, 75]. The bill passed its first reading on 6 July 2026, 59–0, while the opposition boycotted the vote; no per-MK record of that vote is published in the Knesset's vote services, so the tally is the press figure [47]. Under the bill:

  • 80 of the 120 MKs choose the members;
  • if there is no agreement within two weeks, the coalition and the opposition each pick three members;
  • four supervisory members representing bereaved families join the commission [47].

In June 2026 Ynet reported a deal under which the Haredi parties would back the coalition's bills on the attorney general and on this commission, in return for the Torah study and arrest-freeze laws. Shas and UTJ denied it in a joint statement: "there is no 'deal' with Prime Minister Netanyahu," adding that their demands did not depend on anything, and that "to the extent that we see these laws are being practically advanced, we will be able to resume voting in favor of coalition legislation" [49]. In July 2026 the Times of Israel reported that the coalition had agreed to advance those Haredi priorities "in exchange for their support for the coalition's own legislative agenda" [47].

Closest option(s): The Knesset picks the members, split between coalition and opposition, with bereaved families involved (commission-appointed-by-knesset-balance).

Religion and state

Action (2022 coalition agreement) [19]. Clauses UTJ secured include:

  • preserving "the status quo on religion and state as it has been accepted for decades", and repairing any damage to it, "including changes that occurred in the past", by legislation if needed;
  • coalition discipline to block any private bill that changes the religious status quo;
  • recognising only conversions done through a state body subject to the Chief Rabbinate;
  • cancelling the 2021 kashrut reform (which allowed private kosher supervision) "in line with the position of the Chief Rabbinate";
  • keeping prayer at the Western Wall "according to the custom of the place", with separate sections for men and women;
  • a law letting hospital directors ban hametz (leavened food) during Passover;
  • a Chief Rabbinate representative on the committee that grants Shabbat work permits;
  • freezing parts of a decision on regional transport authorities "regarding the Shabbat issue";
  • looking into "illegal missionary activity".

Action (legislation):

  • January 2023: Gafni, Asher and Pindrus sponsored a bill to ban hametz in hospitals during Passover. The High Court had ruled such bans illegal in 2020 [63].
  • January 2023: Gafni, Maklev and Asher sponsored a bill to set aside at least 15% of opening hours at national-park springs for separate bathing for men and women [64].
  • March 2026: the Knesset passed a UTJ–Shas law letting rabbinical courts arbitrate civil disputes when both sides agree, by 65–41. Asher, Maklev and Pindrus voted for it [62, 74].
  • July 2026: the party sponsored and voted for the Basic Law: Torah Study (see Haredi military enlistment) [35, 42].

Statement: In February 2024 Gafni criticised Prime Minister Netanyahu for issuing a statement on Shabbat about Israel's credit rating: "What was the need? It was totally unnecessary" [65]. In May 2023 Gafni urged Netanyahu to stop Knesset members from visiting the Temple Mount, saying such visits are not a sign of sovereignty but "sacrilege" [57].

Closest option(s): Give Jewish religious law a bigger role, keeping marriage and conversion only through the Orthodox Rabbinate and strengthening Shabbat observance (strengthen-jewish-character). The party itself frames many of these steps as defending the existing arrangements (keep-status-quo). No evidence was found on its position on religious studies in state schools.

Other notable positions

Funding and autonomy of Haredi education

Action: The 2022 coalition agreement:

  • set minimum per-student funding for yeshivas and moved the yeshiva budget into the permanent budget base;
  • required priority building of classrooms, kindergartens and daycare centres in the Haredi community;
  • required any expansion of free education to apply equally to the Haredi community [19].

Action: In March 2025 Gafni secured about NIS 1 billion for Haredi institutions in the 2025 budget base [59]. In March 2026 Degel HaTorah was expected to vote for the 2026 budget, which included almost NIS 1 billion more for Haredi schools, after its rabbis instructed it to [60]. In March 2026 Gafni worked with the coalition whip and Finance Ministry officials to pass a NIS 800 million allocation to Haredi programmes and institutions. The attorney general froze it at once. A December 2025 High Court ruling had already blocked an earlier transfer of about NIS 1 billion over concerns that many of these schools do not teach the state core curriculum [61].

Daycare subsidies and family support

Action: Gafni sponsored a 2026 bill under which a family's daycare eligibility would depend only on the mother's work or studies, not on the father's military status. He framed it as supporting women's employment [51]. The coalition agreement also says daycare subsidy rules may not change without the agreement of all coalition parties [19].

LGBT issues

Statement: In June 2023 MK Yitzhak Pindrus, now third on the list, said he wanted to prevent the Pride parade and "this movement" in general, and called "permissiveness regarding arayot" (sexual relations forbidden by Jewish law) a greater danger than Islamic State, Hezbollah or Hamas [66]. No party bill on the subject was found.

Temple Mount

Statement: Degel HaTorah's then-chair Gafni repeatedly asked the prime minister to stop Jewish MKs from going up to the Temple Mount. He gave religious reasons (he called it "sacrilege") as well as diplomatic and security ones [57].

Death penalty for terrorists

Action: All four Degel HaTorah MKs voted against the law allowing the death penalty for terrorists, which passed its final reading on 30 March 2026 by 62–48, with one abstention. Asher and Maklev also voted against an earlier version on 10 November 2025 [44, 75].

Public spaces and gender separation

Action: Party MKs sponsored a January 2023 bill for separate bathing hours for men and women at national-park springs [64]. The coalition agreement commits to amending the anti-discrimination law to allow gender-separated cultural events and studies for Haredim and religious people who want them [19, 20].

Relations with Religious Zionist parties and the state

Statement: After leaving the government in July 2025, Gafni said "the ones who are leading the war against Torah students are the religious Zionists", and called the split a "bill of divorce" [24]. At the party's September 2026 campaign launch, Asher said Smotrich and Ben Gvir "tried to speak nicely, but ultimately they took care of their own public, not ours" [9]. The party's spiritual leader, Rabbi Lando, made statements in 2026 critical of Zionism and of Religious Zionist rabbis, as described under Leadership [68, 69].

Local government and consumer protection

Record: Asher's background is in local government (mayor of Bnei Brak, deputy chair of the Union of Local Authorities). His Knesset record includes consumer laws on banking fees, mortgage freezes after a death, and food-shop scales, as well as road-safety work as chair of a sub-committee [10].

Coalition stance

2022 election and government. UTJ ran in 2022 as part of Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc [21] and signed a coalition agreement with Likud. The agreement text used in this document is dated 21 December 2022; the final agreement was signed on 28 December 2022 [19, 20, 77]. Degel HaTorah received the Finance Committee chair (Gafni), the Interior Committee chair (Asher) and the post of Deputy Transportation Minister (Maklev) [6, 20, 23]. The party had traditionally refused full ministerial posts on principle, partly so as not to bear responsibility for desecrating Shabbat [6, 8].

Leaving the government (July 2025). Degel HaTorah left the government and coalition on 14 July 2025 over the draft law [22, 23]. Gafni then described the break with the Religious Zionist parties as a "bill of divorce" [24].

Statements on future coalitions:

  • 12 May 2026: Rabbi Lando said: "We no longer have any trust in [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu," and that the party would from then on do "what is best for Haredi Judaism". Gafni said the rabbi's position would guide the party [32].
  • June 2026: a Degel HaTorah spokesman said the party did not attend a coalition meeting "because we are in the opposition" [49].
  • 7 July 2026: asked by Netanyahu to commit to his bloc after the election, Gafni cited Rabbi Lando's ruling that "as of now, there is no bloc". The Haredi parties said they would discuss post-election loyalty only after the Torah study and arrest-freeze laws passed [33].
  • 31 August 2026: Ynet reported that, for the first time, Degel HaTorah was considering asking its rabbis for permission to take ministerial posts. If UTJ joins the next coalition, Asher would be expected to become Degel HaTorah's first minister [5, 8].
  • September 2026: at a Ynet conference, Asher said: "Whoever wants comfortable partners in government, who don't want to take his chair or replace him, and wants a stable government, will have to sit with us. I have no problem sitting with Gadi Eisenkot... I'm ready to sit with anyone" [6].
  • 29 September 2026: responding to a report that two Agudat Yisrael MKs might let an Eisenkot-led government form, Asher said UTJ "has no desire to topple or install anyone" and that all its factions would support only a government in which yeshiva students' exemption is "legally settled" [34].
  • Background (2017): Gafni said that although he was closer to the left on diplomatic issues, he would not sit with the left because of disputes over Reform Judaism [56].

Contradiction: In the 2022 coalition agreement, UTJ (including Degel HaTorah) agreed that the coalition would last until the end of the 25th Knesset (clause 8 of the signed agreement) [77]. On 14 July 2025 Degel HaTorah left the government and the coalition [22, 23]. The party says Likud and the coalition broke their own commitments on the status of yeshiva students first [22].

Votes with the coalition after leaving it. Between May and July 2026 the party's spiritual leader said "we no longer have any trust in Netanyahu" and "there is no bloc", and a party spokesman said Degel HaTorah was "in the opposition" [32, 33, 49]. On 2 June 2026 three Degel HaTorah MKs, and on 15 July 2026 all four, voted for the coalition's attorney general bill [41, 48]. The party had also voted for a bill to split the attorney general's role in October 2025, and its 2022 coalition agreement backed such changes (see Judicial system) [41, 19]. In June 2026 Shas and UTJ denied a reported "deal" to support coalition bills in return for their own laws, but said they would "be able to resume voting in favor of coalition legislation" once those laws were advanced; in July 2026 the Times of Israel reported such an arrangement [47, 49]. The party has not described its July 2026 votes as a return to Netanyahu's bloc. The statements were about loyalty to a bloc after the election, not a pledge on these bills, so this is recorded as context and not as a contradiction.

Track record on coalition pledges. In 2022 UTJ ran with the Netanyahu bloc and joined his government as it had said it would [19, 21]. It left the government in July 2025, saying the coalition had broken its commitments on the draft law [22]. No 2026 pledge naming a preferred prime minister was found. The party's stated condition is a law settling the exemption for yeshiva students [34].

Track record

Degel HaTorah was part of the government from December 2022 until July 2025. It had no full ministers; its posts were committee chairs and a deputy ministry [6, 20]. Below, its main coalition-agreement commitments are compared with what happened.

  • Basic Law: Torah Study: promised "by the passage of the 2023 budget" [19]. Passed on 13 July 2026, three years late, in a softer form without the "balance" clause [35, 36, 37].
  • Security Service Law amendment settling yeshiva students' status: promised by the 2023 budget [19]. Not passed. The draft-exemption law was not passed in the 25th Knesset; Ynet linked the September 2026 leadership change to that failure [5, 28, 29]. A temporary arrest freeze passed in July 2026, but the High Court froze it the next day and struck it down in September 2026 [38, 40, 79].
  • Yeshiva and Haredi education funding: promised minimum per-student funding and moving yeshiva money into the budget base [19]. Largely delivered. About NIS 1 billion was moved into the 2025 base [59]. In 2026 the budget included nearly NIS 1 billion more for Haredi schools [60]; a separate NIS 800 million allocation passed in March 2026 but the attorney general froze it, citing a December 2025 High Court ruling [61].
  • Judicial changes: promised support for the justice minister's bills [19]. Partly delivered. The reasonableness law passed in July 2023 (later cancelled by the Supreme Court), the judicial-selection law in March 2025, and the attorney general law in July 2026, all with Degel HaTorah votes [41, 48].
  • Hametz in hospitals law: promised [19]. A bill was filed in January 2023 [63]. No final passage was found.
  • Daycare subsidies: promised no change without coalition agreement [19]. After the 2024 ruling the subsidies were removed for some families. In June 2026 the Finance Committee approved a restoration bill for its first reading [51]. No final passage was found.
  • Purchase taxes on disposable tableware and sweetened drinks: promised to be cancelled [19]. Delivered. On 1 January 2023 the new finance minister ordered both taxes cancelled; Gafni said: "This was one of our promises to do immediately with the establishment of the government" [80].
  • Finance Committee: Gafni chaired it until July 2025 [22]. By June 2026 Likud's Hanoch Milwidsky chaired it [51].

Legal or ethical matters involving leaders

No indictments, convictions or official inquiries involving the party's leaders were found.

What was checked: the Knesset biographies of Yaakov Asher and Yitzhak Pindrus [10, 11]; Times of Israel topic pages for Degel HaTorah, Moshe Gafni, Yaakov Asher and Yitzhak Pindrus (2013–2026); Hebrew coverage of the leadership change [4, 5, 6]; and Hebrew and English news searches for police, Attorney General or Knesset Ethics Committee action involving the party's leaders. No official proceeding was found.

Sources

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  45. Plenum vote results for Degel HaTorah MKs: bill for a state-national commission of inquiry into the October 7 attack (vote 44946, 2025-12-24). The Knesset, parliamentary information database (OData), accessed 2026-10-06. https://knesset.gov.il/OdataV4/ParliamentInfo/KNS_PlenumVoteResult?$filter=VoteID%20eq%2044946%20and%20(MkId%20eq%20526%20or%20MkId%20eq%2011835%20or%20MkId%20eq%2023641%20or%20MkId%20eq%2030672)
  46. Key Haredi newspaper questions wisdom of continued backing of judicial overhaul. The Times of Israel, 2023-07-20. https://www.timesofisrael.com/key-haredi-newspaper-questions-wisdom-of-continued-backing-of-judicial-overhaul/
  47. Knesset advances controversial bill for politically appointed Oct. 7 probe in 1st reading. The Times of Israel, 2026-07-07. https://www.timesofisrael.com/knesset-passes-controversial-politically-appointed-oct-7-probe-in-1st-reading/
  48. Bill to gut attorney general's powers approved by Knesset committee for final readings. The Times of Israel, 2026-07-13. https://www.timesofisrael.com/knesset-committee-approves-bill-to-gut-attorney-generals-powers-for-final-readings/
  49. Haredi parties deny report of deal with Netanyahu to pass array of pre-election laws. The Times of Israel, 2026-06-23. https://www.timesofisrael.com/haredi-parties-deny-report-about-deal-with-netanyahu-to-pass-array-of-pre-election-bills/
  50. Haredi Knesset boycott continues, putting coalition's legislative blitz at risk. The Times of Israel, 2026-06-16. https://www.timesofisrael.com/haredi-knesset-boycott-continues-putting-coalitions-legislative-blitz-at-risk/
  51. Finance Committee moves to restore daycare subsidies for ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers. The Times of Israel, 2026-06-09. https://www.timesofisrael.com/finance-committee-moves-to-restore-daycare-subsidies-for-ultra-orthodox-draft-dodgers/
  52. גפני: "לא מבין על מה נלחמים בעזה. צריך איזה טראמפ שיגיד 'מחזירים את החטופים'". Ynet, 2025-06-25. https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/byn4pmtnge
  53. Senior Haredi lawmaker: 'I don't understand what we are fighting for in Gaza'. The Times of Israel, 2025-06-25. https://www.timesofisrael.com/senior-haredi-lawmaker-i-dont-understand-what-we-are-fighting-for-in-gaza/
  54. 'Send your children to fight': Smotrich spars with Haredi MKs over hostages, IDF. The Times of Israel, 2025-04-22. https://www.timesofisrael.com/send-your-children-to-fight-smotrich-spars-with-haredi-mks-over-hostages-idf/
  55. גפני: "הפלסטינים היו פה לפנינו". Srugim, 2017-06-12. https://www.srugim.co.il/200536-גפני-הפלסטינים-היו-פה-לפנינו
  56. גפני: אני נוטה לשמאל, אבל לא אשב איתם בגלל הרפורמים. Haaretz, 2017-06-12. https://www.haaretz.co.il/1.4161616
  57. Prominent Haredi MK urges Netanyahu to stop Knesset members visiting Temple Mount. The Times of Israel, 2023-05-18. https://www.timesofisrael.com/prominent-haredi-mk-urges-netanyahu-to-stop-knesset-members-visiting-temple-mount/
  58. In major success for government, Knesset approves 2025 budget, staving off elections. The Times of Israel, 2025-03-25. https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-major-success-for-government-knesset-approves-2025-budget-staving-off-elections/
  59. Haredi lawmakers split on approach to budget, which must pass this month or gov't falls. The Times of Israel, 2025-03-06. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ultra-orthodox-lawmakers-split-on-approach-to-budget-as-government-hangs-in-balance/
  60. Haredi parties likely to vote for 2026 state budget despite lack of exemption law. The Times of Israel, 2026-03-09. https://www.timesofisrael.com/haredi-parties-likely-to-vote-for-2026-state-budget-despite-lack-of-exemption-law/
  61. Opposition MKs voted to allocate NIS 800 million for Haredi schools. How did that happen? The Times of Israel, 2026-03-30. https://www.timesofisrael.com/opposition-mks-voted-to-allocate-nis-800-million-for-haredi-schools-how-did-it-happen/
  62. New law lets rabbinical courts arbitrate civil disputes; opposition head says Israel now a theocracy. The Times of Israel, 2026-03-24. https://www.timesofisrael.com/knesset-passes-law-allowing-rabbinical-courts-to-arbitrate-civil-disputes/
  63. UTJ submits bill to ban hametz from hospitals during Passover. The Times of Israel, 2023-01-23. https://www.timesofisrael.com/utj-submits-bill-to-ban-hametz-from-hospitals-during-passover/
  64. Outrage over UTJ bill to gender-segregate bathing at national park springs. The Times of Israel, 2023-01-24. https://www.timesofisrael.com/outrage-over-utj-bill-to-gender-segregate-bathing-at-national-park-springs/
  65. Ultra-Orthodox party pans Netanyahu for issuing credit rating statement on Shabbat. The Times of Israel, 2024-02-11. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ultra-orthodox-party-pans-netanyahu-for-issuing-credit-rating-statement-on-shabbat/
  66. Coalition MK: LGBTQ community poses greater threat to Israel than Hezbollah or Hamas. The Times of Israel, 2023-06-21. https://www.timesofisrael.com/coalition-mk-lgbtq-community-poses-greater-threat-to-israel-than-hezbollah-or-hamas/
  67. Haredi MK Pindrus says opposition lawmaker Lazimi should be shot in legs for protesting. The Times of Israel, 2026-06-29. https://www.timesofisrael.com/haredi-mk-pindrus-says-opposition-lawmaker-lazimi-should-be-shot-in-legs-for-protesting/
  68. Top Haredi rabbi says religious soldiers committing murder; Netanyahu issues rare criticism. The Times of Israel, 2026-07-20. https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-haredi-rabbi-says-religious-soldiers-committing-murder-pm-issues-rare-criticism/
  69. Top Haredi rabbi denounces Israeli state, religious soldiers; opposition rebukes him, notes ties to Netanyahu. The Times of Israel, 2026-10-06. https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-haredi-rabbi-denounces-israeli-state-religious-soldiers-opposition-rebukes-him-notes-ties-to-netanyahu/
  70. Mayors demand government take quick action to compensate victims of Iranian strikes. The Times of Israel, 2025-06-18. https://www.timesofisrael.com/mayors-demand-government-take-quick-action-to-compensate-victims-of-iranian-strikes/
  71. Plenum vote results for Degel HaTorah MKs: crime-organization bills and other votes (votes 46193, 46194, 44647, 44992, 42820). The Knesset, parliamentary information database (OData), accessed 2026-10-06. https://knesset.gov.il/OdataV4/ParliamentInfo/KNS_PlenumVoteResult?$filter=(VoteID%20eq%2046193%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2046194%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2044647%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2044992%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2042820)%20and%20(MkId%20eq%20526%20or%20MkId%20eq%2011835%20or%20MkId%20eq%2023641%20or%20MkId%20eq%2030672)
  72. Knesset factions whose name includes "דגל התורה" (start and end dates of each faction, 12th–24th Knessets). The Knesset, parliamentary information database (OData, KNS_Faction), accessed 2026-10-07. https://knesset.gov.il/OdataV4/ParliamentInfo/KNS_Faction?$filter=contains(Name,'%D7%93%D7%92%D7%9C%20%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94')
  73. House Committee session of 16 July 2026, 21:55 (agenda item: "בקשת סיעת יהדות התורה להתפלג לפי סעיף 59(2) לחוק הכנסת"). The Knesset, parliamentary information database (OData, KNS_CmtSessionItem), accessed 2026-10-07. https://knesset.gov.il/OdataV4/ParliamentInfo/KNS_CmtSessionItem?$filter=CommitteeSessionID%20eq%202245253
  74. Plenum vote results: Religious Courts Jurisdiction (Arbitration) Bill, third reading, 24 March 2026 (vote 45441). The Knesset, parliamentary information database (OData), accessed 2026-10-07. https://knesset.gov.il/OdataV4/ParliamentInfo/KNS_PlenumVoteResult?$filter=VoteID%20eq%2045441
  75. Plenum vote results for all MKs, used for vote tallies (votes 38405, 42820, 44413, 44575, 44580, 44992, 39785, 46462, 44946, 45858, 44647, 46248; results are paged 100 rows at a time). The Knesset, parliamentary information database (OData), accessed 2026-10-07. https://knesset.gov.il/OdataV4/ParliamentInfo/KNS_PlenumVoteResult?$filter=(VoteID%20eq%2038405%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2042820%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2044413%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2044575%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2044580%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2044992%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2039785%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2046462%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2044946%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2045858%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2044647%20or%20VoteID%20eq%2046248)
  76. דרמה באגודת ישראל: פרוש ושטארק הקימו מפלגה חדשה; פיצוץ במגעים עם גור. JDN, 2026-09-08. https://www.jdn.co.il/news/2725798/
  77. הסכם קואליציוני לכינון הממשלה ה-37 בין סיעת הליכוד לסיעת יהדות התורה והשבת אגודת ישראל – דגל התורה (signed agreement, 28 December 2022). The Knesset, 2022-12-28. https://main.knesset.gov.il/mk/government/Documents/CA37-YT.pdf
  78. Knesset plenum votes 40533 (VAT order, 2024-03-11, 47–29) and 44209 and 44210 (Knesset dissolution bills, preliminary readings, 2025-06-12): official per-MK records. Knesset vote-details service, accessed 2026-10-12. https://www.knesset.gov.il/WebSiteApi/knessetapi/Votes/GetVoteDetails/40533 ; https://www.knesset.gov.il/WebSiteApi/knessetapi/Votes/GetVoteDetails/44209 ; https://www.knesset.gov.il/WebSiteApi/knessetapi/Votes/GetVoteDetails/44210
  79. High Court strikes down law shielding haredi yeshiva students from arrest over draft evasion. The Jerusalem Post, 2026-09-03. https://jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-907553
  80. In 1st move as minister, Smotrich orders taxes on plasticware, sugary drinks nixed. The Times of Israel, 2023-01-01. https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-1st-move-as-minister-smotrich-orders-taxes-on-plasticware-sugary-drinks-nixed/

Information availability

There is enough public information to describe Degel HaTorah's positions on most issues, mainly from actions:

  • Knesset votes, taken from the Knesset's own voting records;
  • the signed 2022 coalition agreement;
  • legislation the party sponsored;
  • extensive news coverage.

Gaps:

  • The party publishes no platform (מצע). Its website (m.degel.org.il) is an old campaign landing page with no policy content. Its positions are set by its rabbinic leadership, so many are known only from votes, agreements and leaders' statements.
  • No documented position was found on Iran and Hezbollah strategy.
  • The evidence on crime in Arab society and on the current Gaza questions is thin and, for Gaza, dated.
  • Little public information was found about new candidate Moshe Azriel Rosenthal (fifth place).
  • Vote tallies were checked against the Knesset database where the vote is recorded there; the July 2026 first reading of the October 7 commission bill is not yet in the database, so its tally comes from news reporting [47].