Who We Are

Background

The initiative was born out of deep conversation among representatives of many communities who felt their voice was not being heard and their needs were not represented within the existing charedi political framework — among them communities of olim from abroad, ba’alei teshuva, charedim who seek to combine Torah with derech eretz as a first-choice way of life, and many others.

Out of that feeling, numerous initiatives arose over the years and became reality, among them: the founding of the state-charedi education stream and many additional schools, new youth movements, the development of service tracks suited to young charedim, and political slates that ran in elections in a series of municipalities. Nearly all of these initiatives met great demand and extraordinary success, with Heaven’s help.

In recent years something broke in Israel. During the term of the 25th Knesset, and especially since the disaster of October 7th, it became clear that the veteran charedi representatives not only fail to act for large and growing parts of the charedi public — they are also unable to achieve the very goals they were elected to deliver, such as protecting Torah learners and improving the charedi public’s housing and livelihood.

Within a single four-year term, the situation of the charedi citizen of Israel deteriorated dramatically in almost every field. Yeshiva students became criminal offenders under threat of arrest and economic sanctions, education budgets fell sharply, and the word “charedi” became a slur among wide parts of the Israeli public.

Within the camp itself, matters are worsening as well. Old ills are strengthening and new ones are appearing: public shaming of young charedim who serve in the security forces; campaigns of abuse and vilification even against great Torah sages and important rebbes; deep corruption in some charedi municipalities; students dropping out of schools and feeding the phenomenon of street youth; discrimination on communal grounds; and more. And the charedi representatives? Silent.

Against the background of this crisis grew the understanding that things cannot go on this way. It is no longer possible to stand idle and watch achievements that charedi Jewry built through decades of labor go to ruin. If nothing changes, the trend will continue. And if the trend continues, Heaven forbid — what will the charedi public look like four years from now?

Taking Responsibility

The Charedi Community and its representatives present a different approach, founded on one guiding principle: taking responsibility and facing challenges directly — instead of digging into hopeless battles against reality, or sweeping the challenges under the rug and hoping they resolve themselves.

On the draft crisis and the standing of yeshiva students, for example, Hatzibur HaCharedi proposes the simple, sensible solution — the only one that can keep Torah learners truly protected: whoever genuinely learns Torah — his place is in the yeshiva. And whoever does not — he must perform security service, in tracks properly suited to the charedi public, which the party’s representatives will labor to expand and establish.

On the hardship of earning a living: Hatzibur HaCharedi proposes abandoning the charedi parties’ war against the state-charedi education stream — which gives its students, from a young age, the tools for the working world — and instead expanding and strengthening it with additional resources in every city. At the same time, the independence of charedi education will be guarded absolutely, and every charedi community will be free to educate its children as it chooses, without any interference.

And so on every critical issue on the agenda of charedi Jewry — attainable housing, dropout from schools, communal discrimination, and more — on each and every one, Hatzibur HaCharedi offers the most sensible, most detailed, and most serious plan. That is what taking responsibility means.

A tradition of public responsibility

In 5672 (1912), at the Katowice conference, the leading sages of Am Yisrael resolved to establish the first united charedi political framework. They declared that the movement’s purpose was:

“To resolve, in the spirit of the Torah and the mitzvah, all the questions that arise day by day in the life of the Jewish people.”

In 5786, here in the Land of Israel, we continue in their path and declare that the purpose of Hatzibur HaCharedi is to address, in the spirit of Torah and mitzvos, the major challenges currently facing the Charedi community.

As public emissaries who approach this task with sacred awe, the representatives of Hatzibur HaCharedi will follow the path of Torah and mitzvos handed down to us through the generations, and will not turn from it right or left. All their work will be carried out with loyalty and great responsibility, with peace and unity, so that the Name of Heaven becomes beloved through them.

“‘And you shall love the L-rd your G-d’ — that the Name of Heaven become beloved through you: that a person read and study Torah and serve Torah scholars, and that his dealings with people be gentle. What do people then say of him? Fortunate is his father who taught him Torah; fortunate is his teacher who taught him Torah. Woe to those who have not learned Torah — for this one who learned Torah, see how pleasant are his ways, how proper his deeds. Of him Scripture says: ‘And He said to me: you are My servant, Israel, in whom I glory.’”

The registered party

Registered name

למען אחיי מפלגת כלל ישראל

Registration number

59-900211-0

Status

A registered party under the Parties Law, 5752-1992

How we are funded

The movement is funded under the Parties Financing Law, by donations from individual Israeli citizens only, up to the ceiling set by law. Every donation that the law requires to be published is published.

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