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I couldn't find a platform for this list. What it has put out is one statement, and it says the list has a single goal: stopping what it calls the "draft decree" against yeshiva students.

Black Color: Shield of the Torah World (Tzeva Shachor), headed by Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Baumrind and running under the ballot letters נר, has not published a platform or website that I could find. Its one public statement, issued when it submitted its list on September 8, says its single goal is to stop what it calls the "draft decree" and restore the old deferral arrangement for yeshiva students.

This short episode reads that statement, shows where I looked for more, and walks the standard topic list, where every other topic comes up empty.

This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode. Research cutoff: October 2, 2026.

Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/the-color-black/
Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PjhO6Gb-Mw
Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:21 About this series
• 0:51 Who they are
• 1:09 What they've published
• 1:34 The positions
• 1:48 Economy, Religion and state
• 2:46 Courts and governance, Education, Health: no stated position
• 2:59 Arab citizens, Immigration: no stated position
• 3:13 What they put front and center
• 3:37 What's missing

Sources (most in Hebrew)

• S1 Central Elections Committee, "רשימות המועמדים לכנסת" for the 26th Knesset (row: נר, צבע שחור: מגן עולם התורה). Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20260908210824/https://www.gov.il/he/pages/candidates-lists-26
• S2 Ballot name "צבע שחור: מגן עולם התורה" (the CEC uses a dash), submitted by the party "תומכי יהדות בוכרה", 18 candidates headed by באומרינד אליהו אליעזר. Also the IDI-hosted print of the page as filed. Rechecked live 2026-10-02: unchanged
• S3 Registrar of Parties entry for "תומכי יהדות בוכרה" (party no. 59-900185-6, registered 12 Sept 2022), registered goals
• S4 Ynet: the CEC approved 38 lists and their letters, including נר for this list. Used only to confirm approval
• S5 Statement issued on list submission, 8 Sept 2026, printed in full and identically by HaMechadesh ("במפלגה אומרים") and Kikar HaShabbat ("במפלגה אומרים"); Emess quotes its first sentence ("בהודעת המפלגה נמסר") and credits a photo to "דוברות 'צבע שחור: מגן עולם התורה'". Original release not found on a party channel
• S6 Arutz 7 on the Bnei Brak march of 27 Sept, which it reports doubled as the party's launch. Quotes the party: it "מביעה גינוי חריף ומוחלט על תקיפת העיתונאים" (strongly condemns the attack on journalists). Not a policy; not in the script
• S7 Israel Democracy Institute, 2026 elections party page: only the candidate print (S2) for this list, no platform link
• S8 Emess, 17 Aug 2026: the "צבע שחור" alert network says it "אינה גוף פוליטי" (is not a political body). Used only to tell viewers the list and the network are separate
• S9 Queries, platforms and retrieval attempts, 2026-09-30 and 2026-10-02

For the list called Personal Security, I couldn't find a platform, a website, a statement, or an interview in the material I reviewed. Here's where I looked.

Personal Security (ביטחון אישי), a six-candidate list headed by Michael Topchiashvili and running under the ballot letters נץ, has no platform, website, statement or interview that I could find for the 2026 election. This short episode shows where I looked, in Hebrew, English, Russian and Arabic, what the official records say about the list and Demokratura, the registered party that filed it, and walks the same thirteen topics as every episode.

This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode. Research cutoff: October 2, 2026.

Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/personal-security/
Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqDqhyGuA88
Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:49 Who they are
• 1:02 What they've published
• 1:52 Security and foreign policy
• 2:05 October 7, Economy, Housing: no stated position
• 2:17 Religion and state, Courts and governance, Education: no stated position
• 2:29 Health, Welfare, Arab citizens, Immigration: no stated position
• 2:43 Environment, Front and center: no stated position
• 2:55 What's missing

Sources (most in Hebrew)

• S1 Central Elections Committee, "רשימות המועמדים לכנסת" for the 26th Knesset (row: נץ, ביטחון אישי)
• S2 CEC page for the list: ballot name "ביטחון אישי", submitted by "דמוקראטורה: מפלגה להגשמת הציונות וערכי הדמוקראטורה", six candidates headed by Michael Topchiashvili (טופצ'יאשוילי מיכאל); slip נץ / نص, ביטחון אישי / ألأمن الشخصي. Also the IDI-hosted print of the filing (spelled בטחון)
• S3 Ynet: the CEC approved 38 lists and their letters, including נץ for ביטחון אישי. Used only for approval
• S4 Entry for the submitting party (no. 59-900104-7) with three registered goals. A registration form, not an election platform
• S5 Israel Democracy Institute 2026 party page; for this list, only the candidate print
• S6 "דמוקראטורה": public view shows the intro ("there you will find the party platform"), two March 2023 posts and an unrelated 2025 share. Nothing about the 2026 list or its leader. Not authenticated as speaking for the list; not used for positions
• S7 Every query and place checked, 2026-09-30 and 2026-10-02, in Hebrew, English, Russian and Arabic

Orot HaShachar's platform says that any land the army captures in a future war stays in Israel's hands, and is not returned even under an international agreement. That's one of 53 numbered items in an eight-page document they posted for this election.

Orot HaShachar (Lights of Dawn), running under the ballot letters בקר and headed by Nissim Lok, posted an eight-page Hebrew platform for the 26th Knesset on its website. It has nine chapters, covering national security, agriculture and food security, the draft and religion and state, criminal penalties and governance, education, cost of living, war damage, the civil service, and the elderly.

This episode walks through that platform, the party's home page, its Neve Haim desert energy plan, and two of its campaign videos, topic by topic, and notes where I couldn't find a published position.

This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode.

Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/dawns-light/
Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK35wKCbvH8
Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:23 About this series
• 0:47 Who they are
• 1:00 What they've published
• 1:28 Security and foreign policy
• 3:16 October 7 accountability
• 3:38 Economy and cost of living
• 4:17 Housing
• 4:37 Religion and state
• 5:22 Judiciary and governance
• 6:31 Education
• 6:52 Health
• 7:17 Social welfare, pensions, and the elderly
• 7:38 Arab citizens and minorities
• 8:21 Environment, energy, and transportation
• 8:50 What they put front and center
• 9:11 What's missing

Sources (most in Hebrew)

• S1 Central Elections Committee, "רשימות המועמדים לכנסת" for the 26th Knesset (row: בקר, אורות השחר בראשות ניסים לוק). Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20260908210824/https://www.gov.il/he/pages/candidates-lists-26
• S2 CEC page for the list: ballot name "אורות השחר בראשות ניסים לוק", submitted by the party "אורות השחר מפלגה של כולם", 13 candidates. Also the IDI-hosted print of the same CEC page as filed on 8 Sept. Wayback: API error on 2026-09-30, not confirmed
• S3 "מצע מפלגת אורות השחר: גרסה מעוצבת ומעודכנת" (designed and updated version), 8 pages, header "הכנסת ה־26", 9 chapters plus list page. Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20260919151942/ (PDF URL)
• S4 Party site "מצע" page, which embeds the S3 PDF. Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20260923081612/https://orothashachar.org.il/platform/
• S5 Party home page, "תחומי הפעילות המרכזיים" (main areas of activity) bullet list and candidate list. Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20260919152000/https://orothashachar.org.il/
• S6 "על המפלגה" (about the party): values, mission, history. Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20260919152013/https://orothashachar.org.il/about-us/
• S7 "תכנית נווה חיים" (Neve Haim program): desert settlement, nuclear SMR, desalination, pumped storage, floating solar. Wayback: none found
• S8 "שאלות ותשובות" (Q&A): technical bloc of right-wing "faith" forces. Wayback: API error, not confirmed
• S9 "זמן לאחריות" (Time for accountability), @OrotHashachar. Text is YouTube auto-captions, speaker not named in metadata. Must be checked by watching. Wayback: API error
• S10 "מספיק הפקרות: אורות השחר תעשה סוף לחסימת הכבישים" (Enough lawlessness: Orot HaShachar will end road blocking). Auto-captions saved. Wayback: API error
• S11 YouTube RSS feed of @OrotHashachar (15 latest uploads, titles and dates)
• S12 Registrar of Parties entry for "אורות השחר מפלגה של כולם" (party no. 59-900163-3), registered goals
• S13 Party regulations (תקנון המפלגה). Internal rules only, no policy. Wayback: not checked

Betach hasn't published a platform for this election that I could find. The last platform it put out was for the April 2019 election, and it called for cutting VAT on food, electricity and household gas to ten percent.

Betach (Social Security), led by Semion Grafman and running under the ballot letter ז, has not published a platform for the 2026 election that I could find. The only platform on record is from the party's 2019 run, which focused on taxes and VAT, bank fees, rent, allowances, and bureaucracy.

This episode walks the standard topic list, labels every 2019 item as 2019, and includes two short statements Grafman gave the press in August and September 2026 (a statement to Kipa and an interview with Arutz 7) about addiction and trauma among returning fighters.

This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode.

Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/social-security/
Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGplCmw-AWY
Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:19 About this series
• 0:44 Who they are
• 0:55 What they've published
• 1:51 Security and foreign policy
• 2:25 October 7, Economy
• 3:13 Housing
• 3:34 Religion and state
• 3:45 Judiciary and governance
• 4:10 Education, Health
• 4:37 Social welfare, pensions, and the elderly
• 4:52 Arab citizens, Immigration
• 5:09 Environment, energy, and transportation
• 5:21 What they put front and center
• 5:41 What's missing

Sources (most in Hebrew)

• S1 Central Elections Committee, "רשימות המועמדים לכנסת" for the 26th Knesset (row: ז, בטח: בטחון חברתי בראשות סמיון גרפמן). Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20260908210824/https://www.gov.il/he/pages/candidates-lists-26
• S2 CEC page for the list: ballot name "בטח: בטחון חברתי בראשות סמיון גרפמן", submitted by the party "בט"ח בטחון חברתי", 3 candidates (Grafman Semion, Hanis Lubov, Zlatkin Dmitri). Also the IDI-hosted print of the same page as filed on 8 Sept. Wayback: none
• S3 "מצע מפלגת בט"ח: ביטחון חברתי, בראשות סמיון גרפמן", 3 pages, 12 numbered items. Written for the April 2019 (21st Knesset) election: PDF created 2019-02-18. Hosted by the Israel Democracy Institute. Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20250615195844/https://idi.org.il/media/12269/...
• S4 Registrar of Parties entry for "בט"ח: ביטחון חברתי" (party no. 59-900129-4), registered goals
• S5 Grafman's statement announcing the run, quoted in Kipa ("סמיון גרפמן מסר"). The original statement was not found on a party channel. Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20260911110320/https://www.kipa.co.il/חדשות/פוליטי/1230611-0/
• S6 Grafman speaking to Arutz 7 after submitting the list ("אמר גרפמן לערוץ 7"; headline and summary call it "בראיון לערוץ 7", an interview). Quote in article text. Audit 2026-10-01: the saved page embeds a 99-second Arutz 7 YouTube video of the list submission (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COTpmjdoek8, uploaded 2026-09-08), not reviewed. Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20260913235823/https://www.inn.co.il/news/705934
• S7 Hebrew

The Biblical Bloc's website hasn't been updated since the 2022 election. This year, its founder, Dennis Lipkin, has been laying out the party's goals in videos on his own YouTube channel, and those videos are most of what this episode covers.

The Biblical Bloc (גה"ת, גוש התנ"כי), ballot letters יק, has no new platform for this election. This episode reports the eight principles on the party's website, last updated for the 2022 election and labeled as such, and what its founder, Dennis (Avi) Lipkin, has said in 2026 videos on his own YouTube channel: on borders, Lebanon and Gaza, Haredi army service, freedom of religion, immigration and the Law of Return. It walks the same thirteen topics as every episode and says where nothing was found.

This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode. Research cutoff: October 2, 2026. Video quotes come from machine transcripts.

Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/biblical-bloc/
Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nSooFm6ROQ
Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:20 About this series
• 0:47 Who they are
• 1:00 What they've published
• 1:33 Security and foreign policy
• 2:20 October 7, Economy
• 2:45 Housing, Religion and state
• 3:19 Courts and governance, Education: no stated position
• 3:35 Welfare, Arab citizens
• 4:16 Immigration, absorption, and diaspora
• 5:07 What they put front and center
• 5:39 What's missing

Sources (most in Hebrew)

• S1 CEC page for "גה"ת, גוש התנ"כי", submitted by the Gahat party; four candidates (ליפקין דניס, קל ברכה, חווא חנא, פרידמן בנימין דוד); ballot slip יק
• S2 Index of all 38 submitted lists; row יק, list 24
• S3 Ynet: the CEC approved the 38 lists and letters, including "יק" for this list. Used only to confirm approval
• S4 ght.org.il home page, Hebrew and English: "מטרות מוצהרות" / "Our 8 principles" and the candidate block for the November 1 (2022) election. Last modified 2022-10-07
• S5 Party number 59-900113-8, registered 2018; goals filed with the Registrar, identical in wording to the Hebrew principles on S4. Used to authenticate S4 and to date the registration
• S6 "Bible Bloc Party Election update #1 \| 2026": party Zoom meeting hosted by candidate 2, Bracha Kal; Lipkin on the party's aims, then questions (71 min 41 s)
• S7 "Avi Lipkin's Middle East Update", Sept 1 (title misdated 2027): Gaza and Lebanon (53 min)
• S8 "Avi Lipkin's Middle East update", Sept 15: the four submitted candidates, including Benny Friedman, son of the late David Friedman (62 min). Re-uploaded unchanged on Sept 29 (avt7orycahI)
• S9 "Avi Lipkin's Middle East update", Sept 22: the party's cause as "freedom of religion" (60 min)
• S10 Channel 14, ice.co.il and MigNews on the filing: the party's representative presented four candidates and said one had died. None names the person. Not cited in the script
• S11 Every query, account and retrieval attempt, 2026-09-30 to 2026-10-02, in Hebrew, English, Russian and Arabic

Tikun wants to abolish political parties, elect every member of the Knesset by district, and let the Knesset appoint a prime minister who doesn't have to be a politician at all.

Tikun (התיקון, ballot letters נקי) is running on one subject: how Israel is governed. Its website proposes abolishing party lists and electing all 120 Knesset members by district, a prime minister and ministers appointed by the Knesset for professional fit, tenure tied to measurable targets instead of fixed terms, referendums on major national questions, conditioning the right to vote on mandatory, national, or other service, and defined Knesset representation for world Jewry.

This episode walks through the model piece by piece and then goes through the rest of the series checklist, noting where the party has not published a position.

This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode.

Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/electoral-reform/
Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKjqiwTTixY
Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:17 About this series
• 0:42 Who they are
• 1:00 What they've published
• 1:22 The positions
• 1:45 October 7, Economy
• 2:01 Housing, Religion and state
• 2:47 Judiciary and governance
• 4:40 Education, Health
• 4:55 Social welfare, pensions, and the elderly
• 5:06 Arab citizens and minorities
• 5:32 Immigration, absorption, and diaspora
• 5:59 Environment, Front and center
• 6:18 What's missing

Sources (most in Hebrew)

• S1 CEC candidate list page for list נקי, "התיקון לשיטת הבחירות והממשל", 13 candidates
• S2 Official ballot slip for נקי, PDF and PNG
• S3 Registrar of Parties entry for "התיקון" (registered 2025), with five filed goals
• S4 Homepage: "מפלגה חברתית שיתופית חדשה" with the list of core principles
• S5 "מטרות התיקון" (Tikun's goals), five numbered goals
• S6 "מודל התיקון: הרפורמה השלטונית" (the Tikun model, the governance reform)
• S7 "ממשלה מקצועית במקום ממשלה פוליטית" (a professional government instead of a political one)
• S8 "ניהול המדינה לפי יעדים ומדדים" (running the state by goals and metrics)
• S9 "משאלי עם בנושאים מרכזיים" (referendums on core issues)
• S10 "בחירות אישיות במקום מפלגות: להחזיר את הנציגות לציבור" (personal elections instead of parties)
• S11 "האם התיקון מסוכן למיעוטים?" (is Tikun dangerous for minorities?)
• S12 "ישראל כבית הלאומי של העם היהודי: ייצוג ליהדות העולם בכנסת" (representation for world Jewry in the Knesset)
• S13 "מה שואלים אותנו?" (FAQ)
• S14 "למה אנחנו עם מסכות על הפנים?" (why we wear masks)
• S15 "ייצוג אמיתי של צרכים מקומיים" (real representation of local needs)
• S16 Further articles: "הדמוקרטיה למראית עין", "האם התיקון מתאים לישראל?", "ניהול המדינה" (talent in public service), and the articles index
• S17 Instagram, Facebook, TikTok links from the site

I couldn't find a platform, a website, or a campaign account for Brit Olam. The only text in the party's own words is a list of goals on file with the Registrar of Parties.

I couldn't find a platform, website, or campaign account for Brit Olam, Eternal Covenant for the Redemption of Israel (ברית עולם לגאולת ישראל, ballot letters זץ), headed by Ofer Lipshitz. The only text in the party's own words is a list of nine general goals on file with Israel's Registrar of Parties, on a page last updated in December 2021. This episode walks the thirteen topics against those goals, with the Hebrew on screen. A short interview the list's number two gave Arutz 7 at the filing is mentioned but not counted, because I couldn't confirm he speaks for the party officially.

This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode. Research cutoff: October 2, 2026.

Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/eternal-covenant/
Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyxTGmc2g1s
Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:16 About this series
• 0:43 Who they are
• 0:55 What they've published
• 1:33 Security and foreign policy
• 2:18 October 7 accountability
• 3:14 Economy and cost of living
• 3:28 What they put front and center

Sources (most in Hebrew)

• S1 CEC candidate list page for זץ, "ברית עולם לגאולת ישראל", submitted by "מפלגת ברית עולם", 11 candidates headed by "ליפשיץ עופר פינחס"
• S2 Official ballot slip for זץ, with the list name in Hebrew and Arabic ("ألعهد العالمي لنجاة اسرائيل")
• S3 Registrar of Parties entry for "ברית עולם" (no. 59-900072-6, registered 2006), with nine goals (מטרות) filed by the party. Page note: last updated 07.12.2021. The only party-authored policy text found
• S4 Ynet: the CEC approved 38 lists and their letters, including "זץ" for ברית עולם לגאולת ישראל. Approval only
• S5 Arutz 7, "מפלגת 'ברית עולם לגאולת ישראל' נרשמה לכנסת: עשרת הדברות במרכז": 199 s interview with Lev Sabo (candidate 2), described by the outlet as "נציג המפלגה". Cited in the script only for the fact that the interview exists
• S6 Every query, account and retrieval attempt, 2026-09-30 and 2026-10-02, in Hebrew, Arabic and English

Me and You says the way to lower the cost of living is for the state itself to enter markets like banking, credit, fuel, housing, and food as a central competitor.

Me and You, the Israeli People's Party (אני ואתה מפלגת העם הישראלית, ballot letters פה), led by Dr. Alon Giladi, has a one-page website and two linked documents: a 37-page Founding Charter dated 2016 and a one-page draft constitutional preamble. The homepage proposes that the state enter markets such as banking, credit, fuel, housing, and food as a central competitor, an Israeli "Marshall Plan" for a demilitarized Gaza, a demilitarized "Palestinian federation" in the West Bank with listed areas under Israeli sovereignty, and a state medical research authority.

This episode walks through all thirteen topics in the series checklist, separates the current homepage from the 2016 charter, and notes where the two differ.

This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode.

Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/you-and-me/
Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8CZPOiGHpA
Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:16 About this series
• 0:43 Who they are
• 0:54 What they've published
• 1:50 Security and foreign policy
• 3:19 October 7 accountability
• 3:32 Economy and cost of living
• 4:21 Housing
• 4:37 Religion and state
• 5:05 Judiciary and governance
• 5:56 Education
• 6:21 Health
• 6:51 Social welfare, pensions, and the elderly
• 7:05 Arab citizens and minorities
• 7:25 Immigration, absorption, and diaspora
• 7:38 Environment, energy, and transportation
• 7:54 What they put front and center
• 8:16 What's missing

Sources (most in Hebrew)

• S1 CEC candidate list page for list פה, "אני ואתה מפלגת העם הישראלית", 7 candidates
• S2 Official ballot slip for פה, PDF and PNG
• S3 Registrar of Parties entry "אני ואתה - מפלגת העם הישראלית" (registered 2017), with the party's five filed goals
• S4 Party homepage, single page: "About" text with positions on cost of living, Gaza, Judea and Samaria, the judiciary, and health; refers to Oct. 7 and the 2023 judicial overhaul, so written 2023 or later
• S5 "אני ואתה מפלגת העם הישראלית: אמנת יסוד" (Founding Charter), 37 pages, © Dr. Alon Giladi, dated Tel Aviv 2016; linked from the homepage as "אמנת המפלגה - עקרונות יסוד". Cited by PDF page
• S6 "האמנה הישראלית" (The Israeli Charter), one page, a model constitutional preamble
• S7 X and Facebook accounts linked from the site; X profile text
• S8 "מצע מפלגת אני ואתה לכנסת ה-21" (platform for the 21st Knesset, 2019), one page of excerpts from the charter; copy hosted by the Israel Democracy Institute

Haredi Public says every Haredi man who isn't studying Torah full time should be required to serve, and that full-time yeshiva students should be protected from arrest.

Haredi Public (הציבור החרדי, ballot letters זך), led by Moti Leitner, published its platform as eight chapters on its website. It proposes protecting full-time yeshiva students from arrest while requiring every Haredi man who is not in full-time study to serve in adapted military, security, or civilian tracks. It also covers Haredi education (English and math, the state-Haredi stream), dropout prevention, employment, a fivefold increase in Haredi housing starts, discrimination in school admissions, and aliyah.

This episode walks through each chapter, with the Hebrew on screen, and notes the topics the platform does not address, including security and foreign policy, October 7 accountability, the courts, and health.

This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode.

Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/haredi-public/
Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7ioVi4Ap7s
Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:16 About this series
• 0:41 Who they are
• 1:01 What they've published
• 1:30 Security and foreign policy
• 1:54 October 7 accountability
• 2:08 Economy and cost of living
• 3:14 Housing
• 3:45 Religion and state
• 5:26 Judiciary and governance
• 5:41 Education
• 7:37 Health
• 8:03 Immigration, absorption, and diaspora
• 8:33 Environment, energy, and transportation
• 8:44 What they put front and center
• 9:08 What's missing

Sources (most in Hebrew)

• S1 CEC candidate list page for list זך, "הציבור החרדי בראשות מוטי ליטנר", with all 12 candidates
• S2 Official ballot slip (פתק) for זך, PDF and PNG
• S3 Registrar of Parties entry for "למען אחיי מפלגת כלל ישראל" (registered 2026), including the party's filed goals (מטרות)
• S4 Party homepage, including the eight platform summaries and the Q&A section (שאלות ותשובות)
• S5 Platform index (המצע): "הפעם לוקחים אחריות. בכל תחום."
• S6 א׳ Torah world (עולם התורה)
• S7 ב׳ Haredi service (שירות חרדים)
• S8 ג׳ Haredi education (החינוך החרדי)
• S9 ד׳ Dropout prevention (מניעת נשירה)
• S10 ה׳ Livelihood with dignity (פרנסה בכבוד)
• S11 ו׳ Affordable housing (דיור בר השגה)
• S12 ז׳ Fighting discrimination (המאבק באפליה)
• S13 ח׳ Aliyah and absorption (עלייה וקליטה)
• S14 About (אודות / מי אנחנו), incl. registered name, registration number, funding statement
• S15 Public mission (שליחות ציבורית) manifesto page
• S16 Leader profile page, Moti Leitner
• S17 English-language version of the site (platform summaries in English)
• S18 "נילחם ונביא מליארדים לתוכנית חומש" (five-year plan for Haredi education), site post of campaign video
• S19 "נחליף את פוליטיקת העוני" (replace the politics of poverty)
• S20 Leitner op-ed first published in English on VIN News 2026-08-06, republished on the party site in full Hebrew translation
• S21 "לימודי אנגלית ומתמטיקה זו לא עבירה"
• S22 Campaign timeline (יומן הדרך), including registration date 2026-07-05
• S23 Official accounts linked from the site; X profile text

Shas hasn't published a platform for this election. What it has published is a slogan, "I have chosen the way of faith," and a steady stream of statements about Torah study, the Jewish identity of the state, and the courts.

Shas, led by Aryeh Deri and running under the ballot letters שס, has not published a platform for Israel's October 27, 2026 election that I could find. Its campaign slogan is "דרך אמונה בחרתי" ("I have chosen the way of faith"), and its written statements come from the party's Telegram channel, the Shas account on X, and Deri's account on X.

This episode walks the same 13 topics I use for every party. Shas's published statements cover Torah study and yeshiva students, the Jewish identity of the state, the Chief Rabbinate and religious services, and the courts and the attorney general. On most other topics, including housing, health, education, and October 7 accountability, I found no published position, and on the economy and welfare what Shas published is about its record in the last term.

This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode.

Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/shas/
Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2VAb5PWccY
Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:20 About this series
• 0:44 Who they are
• 0:59 What they've published
• 1:43 Security and foreign policy
• 5:34 October 7 accountability
• 7:49 Housing, Immigration: no stated position
• 8:53 What's missing

Sources (most in Hebrew)

• S1 Central Elections Committee page for the list "התאחדות הספרדים שומרי תורה תנועתו של מרן הרב עובדיה יוסף זצ"ל", candidate list for the 26th Knesset (print of the gov.il page, hosted by the Israel Democracy Institute)
• S2 CEC votes26 results page, which lists the Shas list name with ballot letters "שס" (the vote counts on this page are placeholder test data and are not used)
• S3 Shas launches its election slogan "דרך אמונה בחרתי", with a statement by Aryeh Deri (post 5280)
• S4 Deri: "יצאנו לדרך... ש״ס תמשיך לחבר את עם ישראל לאמונה ולשמור על זהותה היהודית של המדינה שלנו"
• S5 Deri: "על זה הבחירות..."
• S6 Deri: "לתקן מן היסוד את מערכת המשפט ולהחזיר את הכוח לעם ולנבחריו"
• S7 Shas faction on first reading of the bill to split the attorney general's role (post 5211)
• S8 Deri on the High Court injunction: "לקידום מערכת משפט לא פוליטית" (post 5261)
• S9 Deri on Basic Law: Torah Study: first reading (post 5238) and final passage (posts 5252, 5254)
• S10 Deri on the law ending arrests of yeshiva students (post 5255)
• S11 Kashrut: Shas faction on first reading of the kashrut fraud bill (post 5213) and Deri on final passage of the state kashrut law (post 5260)
• S12 Shas response on mikvaot: "הם מדברים על סגירת מקוואות, אנחנו נמשיך לבנות אותם" (post 5241)
• S13 Shas on kosher phones: "ש״ס גאה בהובלת החוק לשמירת הקומה הכשרה ותמשיך להגן..."
• S14 Shas list of its activity for reservists, discharged soldiers, combat trauma, and Haredi integration in the army and workforce (past-term record)
• S15 Food baskets: Finance Committee approves about NIS 10 million from Shas coalition funds; "ש"ס תמשיך לדאוג לחלשים" (post 5249)
• S16 Shas "achievements" videos: labor (Yoav Ben Tzur), health (Uriel Busso), social achievements; Deri quote of Yaakov Margi welfare video with placard "העלאת שכר לעובדים הסוציאליים"
• S17 Deri: "ש״ס היא הבית של לומדי התורה ושל החיילים, של המסורת ושל הערבות ההדדית" (welcoming Dror Amos to the list)
• S18 Deri on a proposal attributed to Avigdor Liberman about Judea and Samaria: "ליברמן מציע התנתקות 2 ביהודה ושומרון"
• S19 Campaign graphic "הצלת תלמידינו!" with the slogan "דרך אמונה בחרתי" (post 5311)
• S20 Campaign billboard and bus ad, slogan "דרך אמונה בחרתי" with image of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (posts 5281, 5282)
• S21 Shas faction statement on the High Court freezing budget transfers, "כשמדובר בילדי הציבור החרדי..." (post 5274)
• S22 Shas response to Naftali Bennett on public transportation on Shabbat and civil marriage: "השבת הקדושה ונישואין כדת משה וישראל" (post 5168). Added in the 2026-10-01 audit. The saved HTML pages do not cover this post; the text is from the text export and JSON only
• S23 "Shas family" video: supporter letters reposted by Deri (2091474961286226244, 2091619635577729391, 2092170811616416236); "ברית אחים" series: Deri and @shas_party posts and Telegram post 5319
• S24 Deri: "מאות אלפי משרתי המילואים צריכים ש"ס חזקה"