Netanyahu and the Admor of Gur: One Battle Too Many

Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, the Admor of Gur, is considered one of the most oppositional figures to the Netanyahu government, and this is not a new development. Already during the election campaign in April 2019, he prevented Netanyahu from forming a government by insisting on not supporting the draft law promoted by Avigdor Lieberman. Since then, the attempts have only intensified.

Towards the end of 2024, the Admor, patron of the then-Minister of Construction and Housing Yitzhak Goldknopf, began working to topple the government against the backdrop of delays in legislating the draft law. On September 11, 2024, Michael Shemesh reported that Goldknopf told Netanyahu: "If it weren't for the war, we would have left the government."

On December 29, 2024, "HaModia", the newspaper of the Gur Hasidic dynasty, announced that Agudat Yisrael would vote against the "trapped profits law", and the move failed because some of the Knesset members from Agudat Yisrael refrained from participating in the vote. Netanyahu arrived to vote in this ballot, which took place two days later on December 31, from his hospital bed.

On March 23, 2025, the Admor of Gur met with Rabbis Landau and Hirsch, leaders of the Haredi-Lithuanian public and heads of the Degel HaTorah party, to promote the toppling of the state budget. Landau and Hirsch did not accede to his request, and a few days later Goldknopf resigned from his position as a minister in the Prime Minister's Office. On June 12, 2025, by order of the Admor of Gur, Goldknopf also resigned from his position as Minister of Construction and Housing, thereby dragging the other Haredi representatives to resign from the government: Degel HaTorah, and on July 20, the Shas ministers joined them as well.

When the political steps were not enough, Moti Babchik, assistant to Yaakov Litzman and Yitzhak Goldknopf, was sent to sharply attack Netanyahu in an interview with the "Mishpacha" newspaper. In response, Haim Katz, acting Minister of Housing, fired him. Babchik's firing marked an escalation in the tense relations between Netanyahu and the Admor of Gur, who did not remain in debt and instructed his followers to register en masse for the Likud party in order to harm Netanyahu from within the party.

Netanyahu responded to this ahead of the 2026 budget, when a proposal to impose a 1.5% property tax on vacant land was included in the Arrangements Law. This move was perceived in the Gur Hasidic dynasty as a tax imposed personally on the Admor of Gur, who inherited empty lands from his father in prestigious areas. Finally, the proposal was removed from the Arrangements Law, and the 2026 budget passed thanks to Gideon Sa'ar's entry into the government, but the split in the Haredi votes marked the differences: the Admor of Gur and Agudat Yisrael voted against the budget, while Shas and Degel HaTorah supported the budget.

Why is the Admor of Gur waging such a bitter campaign? The prevailing interpretation sees the reason for this in his public status, which has weakened significantly. In 2019, the Gur Hasidic dynasty split. At the same time, in recent years, the Admor of Belz, who marks 60 years of continuous tenure this year, has gained political and public momentum. Following him, many Hasidic dynasties are attaching their schools (cheders) to the State-Haredi education stream (Mamach). By doing so, the Belz Hasidic dynasty forged a political alliance with the large sub-faction in Agudat Yisrael, "Shlomei Emunim" of Knesset member Meir Porush.

However, a deep acquaintance with the internal streams may provide another explanation, stemming from the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu and the Admor of Gur rose to leadership in the same period. The previous Admor of Gur passed away in March 1996 and the elections in which Netanyahu came to power took place in May 1996. Yaakov Litzman, the previous representative of the Gur Hasidic dynasty, led the Admor's support for Netanyahu, despite the Admor's lack of affection for Netanyahu. Over the years, the political figures who replaced Litzman - Babchik and Goldknopf - did not enjoy the status that Litzman enjoyed. And so, against the backdrop of the Admor's fading public status, the burning draft issue, and Netanyahu's lies – the Admor of Gur's basic lack of affection for him also resurfaced.

The broad public protest against the government's attempt to legislate a law that would regulate a full exemption for the Haredim was the straw that broke the Admor's back. The law was not legislated in the end, and the Haredi leader felt cheated. The Admor's lack of affection for Netanyahu was well illustrated in an open letter published by the Knesset members of Agudat Yisrael in the party newspaper "HaModia" last March: "The last two years were not a 'partnership', they were a saga of deception and exclusion. You promised then to all the Haredi representation: the draft law will be regulated with dignity, without sanctions, without quotas, and without targets."

As far as the Admor of Gur is concerned, Netanyahu indeed no longer has a bloc. On May 12, Rabbi Landau, leader of Degel HaTorah, determined that there is no trust in Netanyahu and announced the "death of the bloc". It is important to emphasize a distinction between the two leaders: the Admor of Gur has been serving in his position for 30 years and has been involved in positions of influence for almost 50 years. Rabbi Landau, on the other hand, was excluded over the years from the circle of decision-makers, and was perceived as a one-man opposition to the late Rabbi Shach.