United Torah Judaism leader Yaakov Litzman.

Party Chairman: Yaakov Litzman

Established: 1992

Current Knesset seats: 6

Official Website: none

Official Knesset Profile: United Torah Judaism

The United Torah Judaism bloc is composed of two parties - Agudat Israel and Degel HaTorah - and mostly represents the religious sector of Israel's Ashkenazi Jewish population, who largely immigrated from Europe and North America.

As a religious bloc, United Torah Judaism supports the application of Jewish law, and its policies and ideology are heavily influenced by a council of religious scholars.

Party chairman Yaakov Litzman has consistently urged the Israeli government to continue construction in the illegal West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit, near Bethlehem, and has made clear that it supports Shas' position that entering a coalition with Kadima will require a pledge from Tzipi Livni to freeze negotiations with the Palestinian Authority over the status of Jerusalem.


Key Party Members


Yaakov Litzman. Official Knesset Profile. Born in Germany and raised in Brooklyn, he moved to Israel at the age of 17, and in 1999 gave up his U.S. citizenship in order to run for the Knesset. Litzman has led the Agudat Israel faction of the United Torah Judaism bloc since, and has consistently urged the Israeli government to continue construction in the illegal West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit. Read more.

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