Difference between revisions of "Belz (Hasidic dynasty)"

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{{short description|Hasidic Jewish dynasty originating from Belz in Galicia with major communities in Israel, the UK and the US}}
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{{Infobox religious group
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| name = [[Belz Hasidic dynasty]]
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| image =
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| caption =
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| founded_date = 1817
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| founded_place = Belz, Galicia (now Ukraine)
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| founder = [[Shalom Rokeach]]
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| leader_title = Rebbe
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| leader_name = [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach]]
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| headquarters = [[Jerusalem]], [[Israel]]
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| type = Hasidic Judaism
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}}
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A [[Hasidic dynasties|Hasidic sect]] originally located in the town of Belz in eastern Galicia near Lvov in what is now Ukraine. The Belz Hasidic Dynasty was founded by Rabbi [[Shalom Rokeaḥ]] (1783–1855), a devoted disciple of [[Ya‘akov Yitsḥak Horowitz]], the so-called Seer of Lublin. Rokeaḥ established his famous court in Belz around 1817, attracting many followers from Poland, Galicia, and Hungary. He was known as both a miracle worker and a Talmudist, and maintained a close relationship with the Galician non-Hasidic rabbinate of his time. His everyday life was simple, and he was the first rebbe who did not dress in white (as was common for kabbalists and early Hasidic leaders).
 
A [[Hasidic dynasties|Hasidic sect]] originally located in the town of Belz in eastern Galicia near Lvov in what is now Ukraine. The Belz Hasidic Dynasty was founded by Rabbi [[Shalom Rokeaḥ]] (1783–1855), a devoted disciple of [[Ya‘akov Yitsḥak Horowitz]], the so-called Seer of Lublin. Rokeaḥ established his famous court in Belz around 1817, attracting many followers from Poland, Galicia, and Hungary. He was known as both a miracle worker and a Talmudist, and maintained a close relationship with the Galician non-Hasidic rabbinate of his time. His everyday life was simple, and he was the first rebbe who did not dress in white (as was common for kabbalists and early Hasidic leaders).
  
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==Political parties associated with Belz==
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'''[[Belz Hasidic dynasty]]''' (Yiddish: '''בעלזא''', ''Belz'') is a major Hasidic Jewish dynasty founded in the early 19th century in the town of Belz in Galicia, now in western Ukraine. The group re-established itself globally after the Holocaust and has significant communities in the [[United Kingdom]], the [[United States]] and [[Israel]]. [[Belz Hasidic dynasty]] is known for its insular, highly supportive network of educational and self-help institutions and for its involvement in Haredi politics through [[Agudat Yisrael]] and [[United Torah Judaism]] ([[UTJ]]).
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*[[United Torah Judaism]] | [[Agudat Yisrael]]
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The dynasty was founded by [[Shalom Rokeach]] (1779–1855), known as the Sar Shalom. It grew under his successors but was nearly destroyed in the Holocaust. The fourth Rebbe, [[Aharon Rokeach]] (1877–1957), survived with his brother and re-established the court in [[Israel]] in 1944. His nephew, the current Rebbe [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach]] (born 1948), has led since 1966 and resides in [[Jerusalem]]. The current Rebbe [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach]] has lived in [[Israel]] his entire life since birth in 1948.
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==History==
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The [[Belz Hasidic dynasty]] originated in the town of Belz in eastern Galicia. [[Shalom Rokeach]] established the court in 1817.<ref name="YIVO">David Assaf, [https://encyclopedia.yivo.org/article/186 Belz Hasidic Dynasty] ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe'', accessed 5 May 2026.</ref> Successors included his son [[Yehoshua Rokeach]] and grandson [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach (third Rebbe)]]. During World War I the court fled to Hungary.<ref name="JVL">Jewish Virtual Library, [https://jewishvirtuallibrary.org/belz-hasidic-dynasty Belz Hasidic dynasty] ''Jewish Virtual Library'', accessed 5 May 2026.</ref>
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Most of the family perished in the Holocaust. [[Aharon Rokeach]] and his brother escaped to [[Israel]] in 1944 and began rebuilding the court in Tel Aviv and [[Jerusalem]].<ref name="YadVashem">Yad Vashem, [https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/communities/munkacs/dispute_munkacs_belz_hasidim.asp Dispute between Munkacs and Belz Hasidim] ''Yad Vashem'', accessed 5 May 2026.</ref> The dynasty has since maintained a pragmatic stance within Haredi society while participating in [[Agudat Yisrael]] and [[United Torah Judaism]].
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==Leadership==
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* First Rebbe: [[Shalom Rokeach]] (1779–1855, Rebbe 1817–1855).
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* Second Rebbe: [[Yehoshua Rokeach]] (1825–1894, Rebbe 1855–1894).
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* Third Rebbe: [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach (third)]] (1854–1926, Rebbe 1894–1926).
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* Fourth Rebbe: [[Aharon Rokeach]] (1877–1957, Rebbe 1926–1957).
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* Fifth and current Rebbe: [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach]] (born 1948, Rebbe since 1966), based in [[Jerusalem]].
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Worked for 36s
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== Political parties associated with Belz ==
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Belz is not a standalone political party. Its public politics run through Hasidic factions of [[Agudat Yisrael]] and the joint Ashkenazi Haredi list [[United Torah Judaism]] (Yahadut HaTorah) in Israel. Historically the court was among the most anti-Zionist of the large Hasidic dynasties; after 1948 it moderated that stance enough to work inside the Israeli Haredi party system while remaining focused on yeshiva funding, religious status and exemption from conscription rather than territorial or security doctrine.<ref name="YIVOPol">David Assaf, [https://encyclopedia.yivo.org/article/186 Belz Hasidic Dynasty] ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe'', 12 February 2010.</ref><ref name="JPostUTJ">[[Jerusalem Post]], [https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907982 What do Arye Deri's Shas and Yaakov Asher's United Torah Judaism stand for?] ''Jerusalem Post'', 10 September 2026.</ref>
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=== Galicia and early Agudah ===
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In 1879 the second Belzer Rebbe, [[Yehoshua Rokeach]], was among the founders of Galician [[Machzikei Hadas]] (Makhzikey ha-Das), an ultra-Orthodox lobby against secular Jewish politics in Lwów.<ref name="YIVOPol" /> In the twentieth century Belz stood apart from much of Agudat Yisrael’s leadership: the third Rebbe opposed Zionism so sharply that Belz did not even join Agudas Yisroel in the interwar years.<ref name="YIVOPol" /> After the Holocaust [[Aharon Rokeach]] eased that refusal of Agudah and of a Jewish state enough for the rebuilt Israeli court to take part in Haredi communal politics.<ref name="YIVOPol" />
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=== United Torah Judaism and Agudat Yisrael ===
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[[United Torah Judaism]] was formed in 1992 as a joint Knesset list of Hasidic [[Agudat Yisrael]] and Lithuanian (non-Hasidic) [[Degel HaTorah]], to avoid splitting the Ashkenazi Haredi vote. Agudat Yisrael’s leading courts have long been Ger, Vizhnitz and Belz, with policy filtered through a Council of Torah Sages.<ref name="JPostUTJ" /> Belz’s organised political arm inside that world is often identified with the Machzikei HaDas (Machzikei Hadas) faction.
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Seat-sharing inside Agudah has repeatedly been a source of friction. Reports of the mid-2000s recorded Belz and Vizhnitz rotating a Knesset place, and Belz complaining that it was asked to sacrifice representation.<ref name="ToIBlog">Eitan Chikli, [https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/united-torah-judaism-lithuanian-and-hasidic-judaism-at-the-heart-of-israeli-politics/ United Torah Judaism: Lithuanian and Hasidic Judaism at the Heart of Israeli Politics] ''Times of Israel'' blogs, 23 August 2026.</ref> Long-serving Belz Knesset member [[Yisrael Eichler]] sat for Agudat Yisrael / UTJ from 2003, with interruptions.
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=== Role in Israeli government ===
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UTJ has usually sat to the right of centre as a coalition partner rather than as a governing party with a foreign-policy programme. Since the 1990s its most durable partnership has been with [[Likud]] under [[Benjamin Netanyahu]]: Haredi seats in exchange for protection of yeshiva budgets, large-family supports and the special status of full-time Torah students.<ref name="ToIBlog" /><ref name="JPostUTJ" /> In the 25th Knesset UTJ held seven of 120 seats (Shas 11). That modest total still mattered because right-wing coalitions often needed every Haredi vote.<ref name="JPostUTJ" />
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In the thirty-seventh government UTJ took housing and Jerusalem-related posts and the chair of the Knesset Finance Committee under coalition agreements signed in December 2022. Degel HaTorah, on rabbinic instruction, generally avoided full ministerial portfolios and preferred committee chairs and deputy ministries.<ref name="ToIBlog" />
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The compact broke over conscription. After the High Court ended the old blanket yeshiva exemption, UTJ pressed for legislation restoring legal cover for students who do not serve. In July 2025 both UTJ factions left the government when they judged the draft bill inadequate; Netanyahu’s formal majority fell to a knife-edge.<ref name="BloombergUTJ">[[Bloomberg]], [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-15/netanyahu-s-coalition-shrinks-after-ultra-orthodox-party-quits Netanyahu’s Coalition Shrinks After Ultra-Orthodox Party Quits] 15 July 2025.</ref><ref name="IPF">Alex Lederman, [https://israelpolicyforum.org/2026/05/19/controlling-the-coalitions-collapse/ Controlling the Coalition’s Collapse] ''Israel Policy Forum'', 19 May 2026.</ref> Agudat Yisrael, including Hasidic MKs, took a harder line than Degel at several points in 2025–26.<ref name="IPF" />
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As of September 2026 Israel is heading for a Knesset election (27 October 2026). UTJ has not pledged to sit only with Netanyahu. Polls still put the list around seven or eight seats, enough in a hung parliament to decide a coalition — or to be replaced as kingmaker if a “Zionist unity” bloc refuses Haredi partners unless they accept a conscription law.<ref name="JPostGafni">Herb Keinon, [https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907743 Haredi alliance with Benjamin Netanyahu shifts as Moshe Gafni ousted from Degel Hatorah] ''Jerusalem Post'', 6 September 2026.</ref><ref name="JPostUTJ" />
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=== Belz slate politics, 2026 ===
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In September 2026 the Belzer Rebbe’s court moved to replace Eichler with [[Elyakim Stark]], chairman of Belz’s executive committee, as the community’s man on the Agudah side of the UTJ list.<ref name="VINStark">Joseph Feldman, [https://vinnews.com/2026/09/07/charedi-political-shakeup-continues-as-belz-moves-to-replace-eichler/ Charedi Political Shakeup Continues as Belz Moves to Replace Eichler] ''VIN News'', 7 September 2026.</ref> Hours before the list deadline, Stark and [[Meir Porush]] (Shlomei Emunim) registered a separate vehicle, [[Homat Torat Yisrael]] / Chomas Toras Yisrael (“Wall of the Torah of Israel”), alleging that Ger’s “central faction” had delayed budget transfers. UTJ then filed as three registered parties — Degel HaTorah, Agudat Yisrael, and Chomas Toras Yisrael — while Belz and Shlomei Emunim said the split was technical, not a walk-out from Agudah. Stark was placed sixth on the submitted joint slate.<ref name="INNPorush">[[Israel National News]], [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/432906 Last minute drama in United Torah Judaism party] 8 September 2026.</ref><ref name="YeshivaWorldSlate">[[Yeshiva World News]], [https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2595974/after-split-and-hours-of-turmoil-utj-submits-party-slate.html After Split And Hours Of Turmoil, UTJ Submits Party Slate] 9 September 2026.</ref>
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Belz therefore remains inside the UTJ umbrella but as a distinct Machzikei HaDas bargaining unit, not as Ger’s junior partner.
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=== List explanation ===
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The parties and factions named under political associations are those through which Belz public politics actually run. Belz is not itself a registered party.
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* [[Agudat Yisrael]] is the Hasidic wing of Ashkenazi Haredi politics in Israel. Belz sits in this camp with [[Ger (Hasidic dynasty)|Ger]] and [[Vizhnitz (Hasidic dynasty)|Vizhnitz]]. Knesset members identified with Belz, including [[Yisrael Eichler]] and, for the 2026 list, [[Elyakim Stark]], come from this side.<ref name="VINStark">Joseph Feldman, [https://vinnews.com/2026/09/07/charedi-political-shakeup-continues-as-belz-moves-to-replace-eichler/ Charedi Political Shakeup Continues as Belz Moves to Replace Eichler] ''VIN News'', 7 September 2026.</ref>
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* [[United Torah Judaism]] is the joint Knesset list used since 1992 by Agudat Yisrael and [[Degel HaTorah]]. Belz votes and seats appear on this ticket, not on a separate Belz list.<ref name="JPostUTJ">[[Jerusalem Post]], [https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907982 What do Arye Deri's Shas and Yaakov Asher's United Torah Judaism stand for?] ''Jerusalem Post'', 10 September 2026.</ref>
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* [[Degel HaTorah]] is not a Belz party. It is the Lithuanian (non-Hasidic) partner on the same UTJ list. Coalition entries and walk-outs, including the July 2025 resignation over conscription legislation, are negotiated inside that wrapper rather than by Belz alone.<ref name="BloombergUTJ">[[Bloomberg]], [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-15/netanyahu-s-coalition-shrinks-after-ultra-orthodox-party-quits Netanyahu’s Coalition Shrinks After Ultra-Orthodox Party Quits] 15 July 2025.</ref>
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* [[Machzikei Hadas]] refers both to the Galician ultra-Orthodox body associated with the second Belzer Rebbe in 1879 and to the Belz faction inside Agudat Yisrael (the name used when Belz and Shlomei Emunim filed a separate technical list in September 2026).<ref name="YIVOPol">David Assaf, [https://encyclopedia.yivo.org/article/186 Belz Hasidic Dynasty] ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe'', 12 February 2010.</ref><ref name="YeshivaWorldSlate">[[Yeshiva World News]], [https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2595974/after-split-and-hours-of-turmoil-utj-submits-party-slate.html After Split And Hours Of Turmoil, UTJ Submits Party Slate] 9 September 2026.</ref>
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* [[Shas]] is the Sephardi Haredi party. Belz has no institutional role in Shas. It is listed only as the other Haredi bloc that usually sits with UTJ in coalition arithmetic. It may be treated as related rather than as a Belz organisation.
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Likud is a frequent coalition host, not a Belz party.
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=== Outside Israel ===
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Belz has no equivalent parliamentary party in the United Kingdom, the United States or Belgium. UK communal politics are conducted through synagogues, schools and charities (including Machzikei Hadass institutions in London and Salford) and through the [[Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations]], not through a Belz ticket at Westminster or local elections. Nineteenth-century Galician Machzikei Hadas is the organisational ancestor of the name later used by Belz educational and political bodies; it should not be confused with later UK schools of similar title.
  
 
==Belz today==
 
==Belz today==
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Under the Rebbe's leadership, the Belz Hasidut has grown from a few hundred families at the time of his accession to leadership in 1966, to over 11,000 families, as of 2022.<ref name="born">Landesman, Yerucham. "Born to Lead: How did the Belzer Rebbe breathe new life into a shattered Chassidus?" ''[[Mishpacha]]'', 10 October 2011, pp. 30–51.</ref> Belz is Israel's second largest Hasidic group.
 
Under the Rebbe's leadership, the Belz Hasidut has grown from a few hundred families at the time of his accession to leadership in 1966, to over 11,000 families, as of 2022.<ref name="born">Landesman, Yerucham. "Born to Lead: How did the Belzer Rebbe breathe new life into a shattered Chassidus?" ''[[Mishpacha]]'', 10 October 2011, pp. 30–51.</ref> Belz is Israel's second largest Hasidic group.
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==Communities==
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===United Kingdom===
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{{short description|'''Belz Hasidic communities and institutions in the United Kingdom'''}}
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The British [[Belz Hasidic dynasty]] community is centred in the [[Stamford Hill]] and Upper Clapton area of the [[London Borough of Hackney]], with further communities in [[Broughton Park]], [[Salford]] (Greater Manchester) and [[Westcliff-on-Sea]], Essex.<ref name="Guardian2015">Haroon Siddique, [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/05/ultra-orthodox-jewish-sect-belz-women-driver-ban-illegal-equality-commission Ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect's female driver ban 'unlawful and discriminatory'] ''The Guardian'', 5 June 2015.</ref><ref name="JC2015">Simon Rocker, [http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/136878/stamford-hill-sect-bans-women-drivers Stamford Hill sect bans women drivers] ''Jewish Chronicle'', 8 May 2015.</ref> Belz is one of the larger Hasidic congregations in Stamford Hill, which is the largest Haredi concentration in Europe.<ref name="JCRBethune">[[JCR-UK]], [https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/london/stamford_shteibls/beltz.htm Chasidey Belz Beth Hemedrash, Bethune Road] ''JewishGen / JCR-UK'', updated 15 March 2015.</ref>
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==== London ====
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===== East End origins =====
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In the 1930s an early Belz synagogue stood on Commercial Road, Limehouse, in the Jewish East End, before the community shifted north to Stamford Hill and Clapton.<ref name="JewishEastEnd">Jewish East End of London, [http://www.jewisheastend.com/belz.html Memories of the Belzer synagogue] ''jewisheastend.com'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
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===== Stamford Hill and Clapton =====
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The present London hub is around [[Clapton Common]] and adjoining streets. Synagogues associated with Belz and recorded by [[JCR-UK]] include [[Chasidey Belz Beth Hamedresh]] (also spelled Beth Hemedrash D'Chasidey Belz) at 99 Bethune Road, London N16 5ED, founded about 1962 and affiliated to the [[Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations]]; and a congregation of the same name at 96 Clapton Common, London E5 9AL, with an additional address from about 2006 at 49 St Kilda's Road, London N16 5BS.<ref name="JCRBethune" /><ref name="JCRClapton">[[JCR-UK]], [https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/London/stamford_shteibls/belz.htm Chasidey Belz Beth Hemedrash, Clapton Common] ''JewishGen / JCR-UK'', updated 16 March 2015.</ref> Community listings also record a beis hamedrash at 1 Belz Terrace, Clapton Common, London E5 9SN.
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[[Kollel D'chasidei Belz Ltd]] (charity number 1186741) gives its main office as 99 Bethune Road, London N16 5ED.<ref name="KollelGiG">Giving is Great, [https://givingisgreat.org/database/charity-factsheet/?regNo=1186741 Kollel D'chasidei Belz Ltd] ''Giving is Great'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
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===== Belz Terrace and listed buildings =====
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[[Belz Terrace]], London E5 9SN, takes its name from the dynasty. The postal address covers properties historically numbered 98 and 98a Clapton Common. [[Historic England]] lists 98 Clapton Common as a Grade II building (list entry 1226457), first listed on 4 February 1975: an early- to mid-nineteenth-century three-bay villa of two storeys and attic in stock brick with stucco detail, known historically as The Woodlands.<ref name="HE1226457">[[Historic England]], [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1226457 98, CLAPTON COMMON E5] ''National Heritage List for England'', list entry 1226457.</ref> The same body records “98 and 98a, Clapton Common (also known as 1–4 Belz Terrace)” on the Heritage at Risk register, in religious-organisation ownership.<ref name="HEHAR">[[Historic England]], [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/heritage-at-risk/search-register/list-entry/198836 98 and 98a, Clapton Common (also known as 1-4 Belz Terrace) E5 - Hackney] ''Heritage at Risk Register'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
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The neighbouring villa at 96 Clapton Common (Stainforth House) was locally listed. Both villas are among the last surviving examples of the early-nineteenth-century villa suburb developed on Clapton Common by the Tyssen family from about 1820. The [[Hackney Society]] records that the [[Belz Foundation]] acquired 96 and 98 in 1973 for school use.<ref name="HackneyWalk">[[Hackney Society]], [https://www.hackneysociety.org/documents/Clapton_Common_walk.pdf Clapton Common walk] ''Hackney Society'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref><ref name="Hackney71">Julia Lafferty, [https://www.hackneysociety.org/documents/71_spaces_draft_07_web_version.pdf 98 Clapton Common] ''Hackney Society / 71 Spaces'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref> A Hackney planning report of 2012 described 96, 98 and 98a as converted to nursery, school, library and synagogue use.<ref name="HackneyPlan">London Borough of Hackney, [https://hackney.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s24785/Report.pdf Planning Sub-Committee report: 96, 98 & 98A Clapton Common] ''Hackney Council'', 15 August 2012.</ref>
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The same postcode is used by [[Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School]], [[BELZ Nursery School]] and [[Dover Sholem Community Trust]] (charity number 1138710).<ref name="OfstedTTMH">[[Ofsted]], [https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/27/100294 Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School] ''Ofsted'', URN 100294, address 1 Belz Terrace, Clapton Common, London E5 9SN.</ref>
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===== Schools =====
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Independent Belz-associated schools in Hackney include:
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{| class="wikitable"
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|+ Selected Belz-associated schools in London
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! School !! Address !! Notes
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|-
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| [[Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School]] || 1 Belz Terrace, Clapton Common, London E5 9SN || Independent Charedi boys' school, URN 100294; proprietor [[Moreshet Hatorah Ltd]]; headteacher Rabbi C. Silbiger; telephone 020 8800 6599. Founded 1973. Ofsted overall effectiveness July 2024: Requires improvement (previously Inadequate).<ref name="OfstedTTMH" /><ref name="GIAS_TTMH">[[Department for Education]], [https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/100294 Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School] ''Get Information about Schools'', URN 100294.</ref>
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|-
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| [[BELZ Nursery School]] || 1–4 Belz Terrace, London E5 9SN || Early years setting at the same postcode as the boys' school.<ref name="OfstedTTMH" />
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|-
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| [[Beis Malka Girls' School]] || 93 Alkham Road, London N16 6XD (nursery/Reception also at Timberwharf Road, N16 6DB) || Independent girls' school ages 2–16, URN 100295; about 599 pupils. Ofsted December 2024: Requires improvement. Featured in 2015 reporting on a proposed ban on women drivers collecting pupils.<ref name="GIAS_Malka">[[Department for Education]], [https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/100295 Beis Malka Girls' School] ''Get Information about Schools'', URN 100295.</ref><ref name="OfstedMalka">[[Ofsted]], [https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/27/100295 Beis Malka Girls' School] ''Ofsted'', URN 100295.</ref><ref name="C4_2015">[[Channel 4 News]], [https://www.channel4.com/news/jewish-hasidic-driving-ban-women-belz-bais-malka Jewish sect schools back down over driving ban] ''Channel 4 News'', May 2015.</ref>
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|-
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| [[Beis Aharon]] (Beis Aharon Dchasidei Belz Boys School) || Stamford Hill (Bethune Road area) || Independent Belz boys' school to age 13. Ofsted rated Inadequate, later Good (reported September 2025).<ref name="JC_Aharon">Simon Rocker, [https://www.thejc.com/family-and-education/chasidic-boys-school-in-stamford-hill-receives-good-rating-from-ofsted-u60m6p1h Chasidic boys’ school in Stamford Hill receives good rating from Ofsted] ''Jewish Chronicle'', 8 September 2025.</ref>
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|}
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==== Charities and offices ====
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UK-registered charities and companies that use the Belz name, or that are the registered offices and proprietors of Belz institutions, include the following. Addresses are those on the [[Charity Commission]] or [[Companies House]] register unless noted.
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{| class="wikitable sortable"
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|+ Belz-named and Belz-institution charities and offices in the UK
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! Name !! Charity no. !! Office !! Notes
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|-
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| [[Cosmon (Belz) Limited]] (working name Cosmon Belz Ltd) || 266130 || 34 Heathland Road, London N16 5LZ || Charitable company (01064198), registered 31 October 1973. Grants for Orthodox Jewish religion and education. Gift Aid recognised. Accounts to 31 March 2021 listed grants including to [[Moreshet Hatorah Ltd]], [[Dover Sholem Community Trust]], Belz Kollel and Belz Manchester.<ref name="CosmonFull">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/266130/full-print COSMON (BELZ) LIMITED - 266130] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
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|-
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| [[Belz Israel Charitable Trust]] || 1083890 || 48 Lynmouth Road, London N16 6XL || Registered 30 November 2000. Grant-making for Orthodox Jewish religious education and religion, relief of poverty, and overseas aid. Operates in [[Hackney]] and Israel. Income year to 31 December 2024: £402,078; expenditure £396,616. Telephone 020 8806 5323. Trustees recorded: [[Charles Silbiger]], [[Martin Imann]], [[Pinchos Fink]].<ref name="BICTFull">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/3975123/full-print BELZ ISRAEL CHARITABLE TRUST - 1083890] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
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|-
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| [[Belz Foundation Ltd]] (previous name The Belz Heritage Foundation Ltd; working name BHF Ltd) || 1112150 || 1 Belz Terrace, London E5 9SN || Company 05423453, incorporated 13 April 2005; charity registered 18 November 2005. Grant-making in Hackney and Israel. Income year to 31 March 2025: £1.20m. Former registered addresses include 96–98 Clapton Common, E5 9AL, and 34 Heathland Road, N16 5LZ.<ref name="BelzFdnCH">[[Companies House]], [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/05423453 BELZ FOUNDATION LTD] company 05423453, accessed 13 September 2026.</ref><ref name="BelzFdnCC">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4018115/full-print BELZ FOUNDATION LTD - 1112150] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
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|-
 +
| [[Belz Communities]] || 1111457 || 2 Merrybower Road, Salford M7 4HE || Educational and recreational services for Orthodox Jewish families in Greater Manchester. Telephone 0161 740 9210.<ref name="BelzCommAddr">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/about-the-register-of-charities/-/charity-details/4018306/contact-information BELZ COMMUNITIES contact] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[Belz Machnovka (M/C) Ltd]] || 1124718 || 40 Wellington Street East, Salford M7 4DW || Synagogue and religious centre costs in Manchester. Income year to 30 April 2025: £171,072.<ref name="Machnovka">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4039813/full-print BELZ MACHNOVKA (M/C) LTD - 1124718] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[Friends of Mercaz Hatorah Belz Macnivka]] || 1126075 || (see Charity Commission register) || Supports Mercaz Hatorah Belz Macnivka institutions in Israel and related UK activity. Named in the first tranche of the May 2025 Charity Commission class inquiry into cashed cheques.<ref name="CCInquiry">[[Charity Commission]], [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/serious-concerns-over-use-of-22-million-triggers-investigation-by-charity-regulator Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator] ''GOV.UK'', 14 May 2025.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[Kollel D'chasidei Belz Ltd]] || 1186741 || 99 Bethune Road, London N16 5ED || Registered 4 December 2019. Grants, poverty relief and religious education.<ref name="KollelGiG">Giving is Great, [https://givingisgreat.org/database/charity-factsheet/?regNo=1186741 Kollel D'chasidei Belz Ltd] ''Giving is Great'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[Belz Gemach Fund]] || 1046707 || — || Interest-free loan fund. Removed from the register; last published accounts year to 31 December 2017.<ref name="Gemach">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1046707/full-print BELZ GEMACH FUND - 1046707] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[The Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass Trust]] || (see register) || Linked to 1 Belz Terrace school site || Named among other trusteeships of [[Jehudah Baumgarten]] of Cosmon (Belz) Limited.<ref name="CosmonTrustees">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/266130/trustees Trustees COSMON (BELZ) LIMITED] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[Moreshet Hatorah Ltd]] || Proprietor of [[Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School]] || 1 Belz Terrace, London E5 9SN || School proprietor on the Department for Education register.<ref name="GIAS_TTMH">[[Department for Education]], [https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/100294 Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School] ''Get Information about Schools'', URN 100294.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[Belz Cheder Ltd]] || Proprietor of [[Talmud Torah D’chassidie Belz]] || 157 Bevendon Square, Salford M7 4TP || School proprietor; Ofsted inspection June 2024.<ref name="OfstedSalford">[[Ofsted]], [https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50256388 Inspection of Talmud Torah D’chassidie Belz] ''Ofsted'', 4–6 June 2024.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[Dover Sholem Community Trust]] || 1138710 || 1 Belz Terrace, London E5 9SN || Grant-making for Orthodox Jewish faith, education and poverty relief. Same address as the Belz Terrace school and foundation. Added to the Charity Commission class inquiry in September 2025.<ref name="CCDover">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5012840 DOVER SHOLEM COMMUNITY TRUST - 1138710] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 12 September 2026.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[Grand Belz Ltd]] || (see register) || — || Recorded as another trusteeship of [[Schloime Rand]] of Cosmon (Belz) Limited and Belz Foundation Ltd.<ref name="CosmonTrustees" />
 +
|}
 +
Greater Manchester charities frequently listed in the same trustee networks as Belz communal bodies, but not all using the Belz name, include [[The Helping Foundation]], [[The Sympathetic Trust]], [[New Marston Limited]], [[A W Charitable Trust]], [[RNH Synagogue & College Ltd]], [[The Sanz Foundation]], [[The Reisner Charitable Foundation Ltd]], [[Broom Foundation]], [[M and M Foundation]] and [[British Friends of Ezrat Yisrael Kiryat Sefer]].
 +
 +
 +
==== Salford and Greater Manchester ====
 +
 +
Registered charities that use the Belz name, or that fund Belz synagogue and school premises in Salford and Manchester:
 +
 +
 +
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 +
|+ Belz-named charities and institutions in Salford / Manchester
 +
! Name !! Charity no. !! Office !! Notes
 +
|-
 +
| [[Chassidei Belz Manchester]] || 326480 || Correspondence: Haffner Hoff Ltd, 2nd Floor Parkgates, Bury New Road, Prestwich, Manchester M25 0TL || Registered 12 January 1984. Funds a synagogue complex in Salford. Income year to 5 April 2025: £530,145. Trustees include [[Jehuda Waldman]] (also [[The Bersam Trust]]), [[Nachman Vogiel]], [[Benjamin Leitner]] (also [[Broom Foundation]], [[Ohr Torah Ltd]]).<ref name="CBM">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/326480 CHASSIDEI BELZ MANCHESTER - 326480] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[Belz Communities]] || 1111457 || 2 Merrybower Road, Salford M7 4HE || Registered 26 September 2005. After-school and elderly support. Telephone 0161 740 9210. Gift Aid recognised. Trustees include links to [[Ohr Torah Ltd]] and [[Talmud Torah Chinuch Neorim]].<ref name="BelzCommAddr">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/about-the-register-of-charities/-/charity-details/4018306/contact-information BELZ COMMUNITIES contact] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[Belz Machnovka (M/C) Ltd]] || 1124718 || 40 Wellington Street East, Salford M7 4DW || Registered 26 June 2008. Purchase and running costs of a Manchester synagogue and religious centre. Telephone 07773 684450. Income year to 30 April 2025: £171,072.<ref name="Machnovka">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4039813/full-print BELZ MACHNOVKA (M/C) LTD - 1124718] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[Belz Cheder Ltd]] || School proprietor || 157 Bevendon Square, Salford M7 4TP || Proprietor of [[Talmud Torah D’chassidie Belz]] (URN 149571), registered as a school 1 June 2023. Ofsted June 2024: Good.<ref name="OfstedSalford">[[Ofsted]], [https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50256388 Inspection of Talmud Torah D’chassidie Belz] ''Ofsted'', 4–6 June 2024.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[Belz Manchester]] (synagogue listing) || — || 28 Broom Lane, Manchester M19 2TW || Public minyan listing; Rabbi Aharon Grunfeld. Telephone (0161) 740 9210, matching Belz Communities.<ref name="GoDaven">GoDaven, [https://www.godaven.com/shul-details/3423/belz-manchester Belz Manchester] ''godaven.com'', updated 21 June 2020.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| [[The Bersam Trust]] || 526452 || 2 Merrybower Road, Salford M7 4HE || Same address as Belz Communities. Orthodox Jewish religion and education; operates in Salford. Trustee overlap with Chassidei Belz Manchester.<ref name="Bersam">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/c/portal/update_language?redirect=%2Fen%2Fabout-the-register-of-charities%2F-%2Fcharity-details%2F526452%2Ffull-print THE BERSAM TRUST] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
|}
 +
 +
==== Westcliff-on-Sea ====
 +
The Westcliff Charedi congregation is a separate registered charity serving families who moved from Stamford Hill. It is the local Chasidic synagogue and planned mikveh operator; Belz families are among those using the wider Westcliff kehillah.
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|+ Westcliff Charedi institutions
 +
! Name !! Charity no. !! Address !! Notes
 +
|-
 +
| [[Westcliff Charedi Synagogue]] (also styled Westcliff Chareidi Synagogue) || 1192449 || Office: 25A Kenilworth Gardens, Westcliff-on-Sea SS0 0BE. Synagogue site: 16 Hildaville Drive, Westcliff-on-Sea SS0 8NJ || CIO registered 20 November 2020. Place of worship, study and grants. Planning for a warehouse-site shul with mikveh and Succot roof-lights submitted 2020.<ref name="WestcliffGiG">Giving is Great, [https://givingisgreat.org/database/charity-factsheet/?regNo=1192449 Westcliff Charedi Synagogue] ''Giving is Great'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref><ref name="JCRWestcliff">[[JCR-UK]], [https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/south6_charedi/index.htm Westcliff Charedi Synagogue] ''JewishGen / JCR-UK'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref><ref name="JCWestcliff">Aleks Phillips, [https://www.thejc.com/news/community/westcliff-charedim-reveal-plans-for-a-synagogue-on-warehouse-site-lk3hyn9z Westcliff Charedim reveal plans for a synagogue on warehouse site] ''Jewish Chronicle'', 11 November 2020.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| Proposed congregation mikveh || — || Fleetwood Avenue, Westcliff-on-Sea (planning approved December 2025) || To be operated by Westcliff Chareidi Synagogue for its own members; not a public mikveh. The congregation had previously used the [[Southend & Westcliff Hebrew Congregation]] mikveh at Genesta Road.<ref name="EchoMikveh">Christine Sexton, [https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/25708013.westcliff-home-approved-become-new-jewish-ritual-bath/ Westcliff home approved to become new Jewish ritual bath] ''Echo'', 19 December 2025.</ref>
 +
|}
 +
No separate “Belz Westcliff” charity number appears on the Charity Commission register. [[Belz Relief Limited]] (1192313) is a UK poverty-relief company-charity (income year to 30 June 2025: £65,317) and is listed here for completeness of Belz-named registrations; its published objects do not specify a Salford or Westcliff office.<ref>[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5169105 BELZ RELIEF LIMITED - 1192313] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
  
 
===Israel===
 
===Israel===
 +
The centre of [[Belz Hasidic dynasty]] is in [[Jerusalem]], with communities in Bnei Brak, Tel Aviv, Ashdod and Kiryat Belz. The main landmark is the [[Belz Great Synagogue]] in Kiryat Belz, Jerusalem (completed 2002). [[Belz Hasidic dynasty]] participates in discussions on Haredi service in the [[IDF]] and has approved limited core curriculum in its schools while opposing full conscription.<ref name="YIVO" />
 +
==== Settlements and occupied territory ====
 +
 +
Belz is not a settlement movement in the religious-Zionist sense. The dynasty historically opposed Zionism and did not join interwar [[Agudat Yisrael]]; after 1948 it rebuilt in Tel Aviv and then Jerusalem and entered Haredi party politics. Its housing and schools follow the wider Haredi pattern: dense neighbourhoods inside Israel proper, plus some institutions in large ultra-Orthodox towns over the Green Line that were built mainly for cheap housing rather than as ideological outposts.<ref name="YIVOPol">David Assaf, [https://encyclopedia.yivo.org/article/186 Belz Hasidic Dynasty] ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe'', 12 February 2010.</ref><ref name="ToIHarediSettlers">[[Times of Israel]], [https://timesofisrael.com/black-is-the-new-orange-30-of-settlers-are-now-haredim Black is the new orange: 30% of settlers are now Haredim] ''Times of Israel''.</ref>
 +
 +
The international community, including the [[International Court of Justice]], treats Israeli civilian settlement in territory occupied in 1967 as illegal under international humanitarian law. The Israeli government disputes that characterisation. The notes below record where Belz institutions are documented; they do not treat every Haredi address in the West Bank as a Belz political project.
 +
 +
===== Jerusalem and Kiryat Belz =====
 +
 +
The global centre is [[Kiryat Belz]] in northern municipal Jerusalem (borders include [[Romema]], Tel Arza, Kiryat Unsdorf, Kiryat Mattersdorf and Kiryat Sanz). The neighbourhood and the Belz Great Synagogue (cornerstone 1984; dedicated 2000) sit in the Israeli-defined city, not in the West Bank settlement blocs and not in the East Jerusalem Palestinian neighbourhoods that dominate annexation reporting (Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, Ras al-Amud).<ref name="JPostKiryat">Alex Winston, [https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/real-estate/article-813898 Kiryat Belz: Unveiling Jerusalem’s Hassidic gem] ''Jerusalem Post'', 11 August 2024.</ref> Expanded municipal Jerusalem after 1967 remains disputed. No reliable source was found that presents Kiryat Belz as an East Jerusalem settlement planted in a confiscated Palestinian neighbourhood.
  
−
===United Kingdom===
+
===== West Bank =====
−
====London====
+
 
−
In London, the Belz community is now centred in Stamford Hill.<ref name=jc-20150528>[http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/136878/stamford-hill-sect-bans-women-drivers Stamford Hill sect bans women drivers] Simon Rocker ''Jewish Chronicle'' 8 May 2015.</ref> In the 1930s, an early Belz synagogue was on Commercial Road, Limehouse, in the East End of London.<ref>[http://www.jewisheastend.com/belz.html Memories of the Belzer synagogue] Jewish East End.</ref>
+
Lists of Belz yeshivas include a yeshiva gedola in [[Beitar]] (Beitar Illit), the large Haredi city in the Gush Etzion area south-west of Jerusalem.<ref name="WikiYeshivasNote">Community and encyclopaedia lists of Belz yeshivas name Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Ashdod, Beitar and Haifa among Israeli sites; Beitar Illit is beyond the Green Line.</ref> [[Beitar Illit]] and [[Modi'in Illit]] (Kiryat Sefer) are the two biggest Haredi settlements; together they account for a large share of the ultra-Orthodox population living over the Green Line. Residents and mayors have repeatedly said families moved there because the state directed subsidised housing there, not because of Gush Emunim-style ideology.<ref name="ToIHarediSettlers" /> Hasidic groups documented as numerous in Beitar Illit include Bobov, Boston, Boyan, Breslov, Karlin-Stolin and Slonim; Belz is not named as the founding or dominant court of that city.<ref name="BeitarCharacter">Local community guides describe Beitar Illit as mixed Haredi/Hasidic; Belz is not listed as the founding sect.</ref>
 +
 
 +
No source was found that Belz founded an outpost, hilltop or named settlement in the northern West Bank, Jordan Valley or Hebron Hills, or that the Rebbe directed a Belz colonisation programme comparable to religious-Zionist settlement NGOs.
 +
====== British Friends of Ezrat Yisrael Kiryat Sefer ======
 +
 
 +
[[British Friends of Ezrat Yisrael Kiryat Sefer]] (charity number 1136917) is a Salford grant-making trust, registered 15 July 2010. Its published activity is “grants in line with the trust deed.” The Commission records operation in Manchester and Israel. It is not Gift Aid recognised and declares no policies. Office: 66 Wellington Street East, Salford M7 4DW. Telephone 0161 792 1230.<ref name="BFEYKS">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4050388/full-print BRITISH FRIENDS OF EZRAT YISRAEL KIRYAT SEFER - 1136917] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
 
 +
Income and spending are large for a three-trustee poverty-relief vehicle: year to 31 July 2024, income £3.40 million and expenditure £3.95 million; findthatcharity records £4.23 million incoming for the year to 31 July 2025.<ref name="BFEYKS" /><ref name="FindBFEYKS">Find that Charity, [https://findthatcharity.uk/orgid/GB-CHC-1136917 British Friends of Ezrat Yisrael Kiryat Sefer] GB-CHC-1136917.</ref>
 +
 
 +
====== Link to Belz ======
 +
 
 +
The charity does not use “Belz” in its title. The link is through trusteeship. [[David Neuwirth]] is a trustee and is also a trustee of [[Belz Communities]] (1111457) and of the Salford cluster that includes [[Ohr Torah Ltd]], [[Broom Foundation]], [[New Marston Limited]], [[The Helping Foundation]], [[The Reisner Charitable Foundation Ltd]], [[RNH Synagogue & College Ltd]], [[The Sanz Foundation]], [[The Sympathetic Trust]] and [[Convalescent Retreat Limited]]. Fellow trustees [[Refoel Halpern]] and [[Nissim Hassan]] overlap the same Salford companies.<ref name="BFEYKSTrustees">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/about-the-register-of-charities/-/charity-details/4050388/trustees Trustees BRITISH FRIENDS OF EZRAT YISRAEL KIRYAT SEFER] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
 
 +
That is a Belz-''network'' charity in Greater Manchester, not a London Belz Foundation or Cosmon (Belz) vehicle.
 +
 
 +
=== Kiryat Sefer / Modi'in Illit ===
 +
 
 +
[[Kiryat Sefer]] is the Haredi name for the core of [[Modi'in Illit]], the largest Israeli settlement city in the West Bank (east of the Green Line in the hills of Binyamin). The international community treats civilian settlement there as illegal under occupation law; 'Israel' disputes that. The city’s population is overwhelmingly Haredi and grew as a state-backed housing outlet for Bnei Brak and similar communities, not as a Belz-founded colony.<ref name="ToIHarediSettlers">[[Times of Israel]], [https://timesofisrael.com/black-is-the-new-orange-30-of-settlers-are-now-haredim Black is the new orange: 30% of settlers are now Haredim] ''Times of Israel''.</ref>
 +
 
 +
The charity’s name and “Israel” classification mean grants are aimed at people and institutions associated with that town. The register does not publish a grant-by-grant list on the overview page.
 +
 
 +
===== Gaza =====
 +
 
 +
Israel dismantled its Gaza settlements in 2005. No Belz town, yeshiva campus or court in the Gaza Strip appears in standard settlement or dynasty lists. During the post-7 October 2023 war the Belzer Rebbe was reported as cancelling a usual holiday trip and as joining other Hasidic courts in draft-evaluation disputes; that is wartime communal politics inside Israel, not a Gaza settlement presence.<ref name="INNBelzTag">[[Israel National News]] Belz tag index, items on draft evaluations and wartime travel, accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
 
 +
===== Golan Heights =====
 +
 
 +
No Belz settlement, neighbourhood or yeshiva in the Israeli-occupied Golan was identified. A well-known 1972 report of Hasidim visiting Golan trenches concerned [[Chabad-Lubavitch]], not Belz.<ref name="NYTGolan">Moshe Brilliant, [https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/10/archives/hasidic-jews-in-flowing-beards-and-black-hats-bring-religion-to.html Hasidic Jews, in Flowing Beards and Black Hats, Bring Religion to Golan Trenches] ''New York Times'', 10 December 1972.</ref>
 +
 
 +
===== Related wording =====
 +
 
 +
Belz publications sometimes use “settlement” for new housing estates in the United States (for example a planned “Kiryas Belz USA” near New York and New Jersey). That usage means a suburban community, not an occupied-territory settlement.<ref name="WorldBelzUSA">World of Belz, [https://worldofbelz.org/new-belz-settlement-in-the-usa/ NEW BELZ SETTLEMENT IN THE USA] ''worldofbelz.org'', 1 January 2026.</ref>
 +
 
 +
===United States===
 +
[[Belz Hasidic dynasty]] maintains sizable communities in Brooklyn (Borough Park), Monsey and Lakewood with dedicated yeshivas and synagogues following the same insular model.
 +
 
 +
==Political and social role==
 +
[[Belz (Hasidic dynasty)]] has been affiliated with [[Agudat Yisrael]] since the post-Holocaust period and forms part of the [[Agudat Yisrael]] faction within [[United Torah Judaism]] ([[UTJ]]) in [[Israel]]. The current Rebbe [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach]] guides this faction. [[Belz Hasidic dynasty]] has taken pragmatic positions on some Haredi issues including education and [[IDF]] service protocols but remains opposed to full conscription. It is not prominently linked to West Bank settlements.
  
−
====Salford====
 
−
There is a Belz community centred around Broughton Park in Salford, part of Greater Manchester.
 
−
Several UK charities are associated with the Belz movement, including i Salford: [[The Helping Foundation]] | [[The Sympathetic Trust]] | [[Newmarston Ltd]] | [[A W Charitable Trust]] | [[RNH Synagogue & College Ltd]] | [[The Sanz Foundation]] | [[The Reisner Charitable Foundation Ltd]] | [[Broom Foundation]] | [[Newmarston Ltd]] | [[M and M Foundation]] | [[British Friends of Ezrat Yisrael Kiryat Sefer]]
 
  
−
Belz associated schools in the UK include: [[Talmud Torah Tashbar]] | [[Yeshivah Ohr Torah School]] | [[TTMH Belz Day School]] <ref>https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/908393</ref> | [[Bnos Yisroel School Manchester]] | [[Talmud Torah Chinuch Norim School]]
 
  
 
==Belz yeshivas==
 
==Belz yeshivas==
Line 36: Line 270:
 
*[[Aharon Mordechai Rokeach]] (born 1975), rabbi
 
*[[Aharon Mordechai Rokeach]] (born 1975), rabbi
 
*[[Mordechai Rokeach]] (1902–1949), rabbi
 
*[[Mordechai Rokeach]] (1902–1949), rabbi
 +
 +
 +
==Key events and controversies==
 +
* 2015 female driving ban: UK leadership issued guidance barring children of mothers who drove from [[Belz Hasidic dynasty]] schools, based on advice from the Rebbe in [[Israel]]. The policy was retracted after investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.<ref name="Guardian" /><ref name="Channel4" />
 +
* 2017 Rebbe visit: Thousands attended the visit by [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach]] to London to open the new facility.
 +
 +
== Timeline ==
 +
 +
* 1779: Birth of [[Shalom Rokeach]] (the ''Sar Shalom''), founder of the dynasty; some reference works give 1783.<ref name="JVL">[[Jewish Virtual Library]], [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/belz.html Belz Hasidic Dynasty] ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' / JVL, accessed 13 September 2026.</ref><ref name="YIVO">David Assaf, [https://encyclopedia.yivo.org/article/186 Belz Hasidic Dynasty] ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe'', 12 February 2010.</ref>
 +
* c. 1816–1817: [[Shalom Rokeach]] is appointed rabbi of Belz (eastern Galicia, now Ukraine) and establishes the [[Belz Hasidic dynasty]] court; YIVO dates the court to around 1817.<ref name="YIVO" /><ref name="MishpachaKingdom">[[Mishpacha]], [https://mishpacha.com/a-kingdom-rebuilt/ A Kingdom Rebuilt: How Rav Aharon Rokeach brought postwar Belz back to life] ''Mishpacha'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
* 1843: Dedication of the Great Synagogue of Belz, a fortress-style building later destroyed after the 1939 German occupation.<ref name="JPostKiryat">[[Jerusalem Post]], [https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/real-estate/article-813898 Unveiling Jerusalem's gem of Kiryat Belz] ''Jerusalem Post'', 11 August 2024.</ref>
 +
* 1855: Death of the first Rebbe; succeeded by his youngest son [[Yehoshua Rokeach]] (1825–1894).<ref name="JVL" /><ref name="YIVO" />
 +
* 1879: [[Yehoshua Rokeach]] is among the founders of [[Machzikei Hadas]] (Makhzikey ha-Das), the Galician ultra-Orthodox political organisation.<ref name="YIVO" /><ref name="MishpachaKingdom" />
 +
* 1894: Death of the second Rebbe; succeeded by [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach]] (third Rebbe; 1854–1926).<ref name="JVL" /><ref name="YIVO" />
 +
* 1914–1918: The court flees Belz during the First World War; the third Rebbe sojourns in Hungary, including Munkács, before returning toward Galicia.<ref name="YIVO" /><ref name="JVL" />
 +
* 1921–1925: After Hungary the third Rebbe settles first at Holschitz near Jarosław and returns to Belz in 1925.<ref name="JVL" />
 +
* 1926: Death of the third Rebbe; succeeded by his eldest son [[Aharon Rokeach]] (fourth Rebbe; born 1880 per Judaica sources).<ref name="YIVO" /><ref name="JVL" /><ref name="MishpachaKingdom" />
 +
* 1930s: An early Belz synagogue operates on Commercial Road in London’s East End, before the later shift to Stamford Hill.<ref name="JewishEastEnd">Jewish East End of London, [http://www.jewisheastend.com/belz.html Memories of the Belzer synagogue] ''jewisheastend.com'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
* 1939: German occupation of Belz; the Great Synagogue is wrecked (attempts to burn and dynamite it are followed by forced demolition).<ref name="JPostKiryat" />
 +
* 1943: [[Aharon Rokeach]] and his brother [[Mordechai Rokeach]] of Biłgoraj escape the Bochnia ghetto and reach Budapest.<ref name="YIVO" />
 +
* 1944: The surviving brothers reach the Land of Israel (Tel Aviv) and begin to rebuild the court; Belz later marks this arrival as ''Yom Hahatzalah''.<ref name="YIVO" /><ref name="MishpachaBorn">[[Mishpacha]], [https://mishpacha.com/born-to-lead/ Born to Lead] ''Mishpacha'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
* 1948: Birth of [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach]] (fifth and current Rebbe), only son of Mordechai of Biłgoraj, in Israel; his uncle Aharon is sandek at the bris.<ref name="YIVO" /><ref name="MishpachaBorn" />
 +
* 1949: Death of [[Mordechai Rokeach]] of Biłgoraj.<ref name="YIVO" />
 +
* 1954–1957: Cornerstone and completion of a Belz yeshiva and study hall in Jerusalem under Aharon.<ref name="MishpachaKingdom" />
 +
* 21 Av 1957: Death of the fourth Rebbe [[Aharon Rokeach]]; a leadership interregnum follows while the orphaned nephew is prepared for office.<ref name="YIVO" /><ref name="MishpachaBorn" />
 +
* 1962: [[Chasidey Belz Beth Hamedresh]] on Bethune Road, Stamford Hill, is founded about this year (UOHC-affiliated).<ref name="JCRBethune">[[JCR-UK]], [https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/london/stamford_shteibls/beltz.htm Chasidey Belz Beth Hemedrash, Bethune Road] ''JewishGen / JCR-UK'', updated 15 March 2015.</ref>
 +
* 1965: Marriage of the future fifth Rebbe in Kiryat Vizhnitz, Bnei Brak.<ref name="MishpachaBorn" />
 +
* June–July 1966: [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach]] accepts the leadership and is installed as fifth Belzer Rebbe in Jerusalem (28 July 1966 in some accounts), aged 18.<ref name="YIVO" /><ref name="MishpachaKingdom" />
 +
* 1973: Belz Foundation acquires 96 and 98 Clapton Common, London, for school use; [[Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School]] is later recorded as founded in 1973 at what becomes 1 Belz Terrace.<ref name="Hackney71">Julia Lafferty, [https://www.hackneysociety.org/documents/71_spaces_draft_07_web_version.pdf 98 Clapton Common] ''Hackney Society'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref><ref name="OfstedTTMHEmerg">[[Ofsted]], [https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50143426 Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School emergency inspection] 5 December 2019 (school founded 1973).</ref>
 +
* 12 October 1975: Birth of [[Aharon Mordechai Rokeach]], son of the fifth Rebbe.<ref name="MishpachaBorn" />
 +
* 1984: Cornerstone of the new Belz Great Synagogue in [[Kiryat Belz]], Jerusalem.<ref name="JPostKiryat" />
 +
* 1993: Wedding of Aharon Mordechai Rokeach in Kiryat Belz.<ref name="MishpachaBorn" />
 +
* 2000: Dedication of the Belz Great Synagogue in Jerusalem after about fifteen years of construction, built as an enlarged replica of the 1843 Belz shul.<ref name="JPostKiryat" />
 +
* May–June 2015: London Belz leadership instructs that women should not drive, including school collection; the [[Equality and Human Rights Commission]] calls such a ban unlawful; schools including [[Beis Malka]] step back from gate enforcement.<ref name="Guardian">Haroon Siddique, [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/05/ultra-orthodox-jewish-sect-belz-women-driver-ban-illegal-equality-commission Ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect's female driver ban 'unlawful and discriminatory'] ''The Guardian'', 5 June 2015.</ref><ref name="JC2015">Simon Rocker, [http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/136878/stamford-hill-sect-bans-women-drivers Stamford Hill sect bans women drivers] ''Jewish Chronicle'', 8 May 2015.</ref><ref name="Channel4">[[Channel 4 News]], [https://www.channel4.com/news/jewish-hasidic-driving-ban-women-belz-bais-malka Jewish sect schools back down over driving ban] ''Channel 4 News'', May 2015.</ref>
 +
* 2017: The fifth Rebbe visits the UK in connection with a new London central beis midrash and Talmud Torah facility.<ref name="Channel4" />
 +
* 2020: [[Westcliff Charedi Synagogue]] registered as a CIO; planning submitted for a Hildaville Drive synagogue and mikveh serving Chasidic families who had moved from Stamford Hill.<ref name="JCRWestcliff">[[JCR-UK]], [https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/south6_charedi/index.htm Westcliff Charedi Synagogue] ''JewishGen / JCR-UK'', accessed 13 September 2026.</ref>
 +
* May–September 2025: UK Charity Commission class inquiry into cashed cheques names [[Friends of Mercaz Hatorah Belz Macnivka]] (May) and [[Dover Sholem Community Trust]] at 1 Belz Terrace (September) among charities under investigation. An inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing.<ref name="CCInquiry">[[Charity Commission]], [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/serious-concerns-over-use-of-22-million-triggers-investigation-by-charity-regulator Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator] ''GOV.UK'', 14 May 2025.</ref><ref name="ThirdSectorSept">Charlie Moloney, [https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/commission-investigates-10-further-charities-22m-cashed-cheques-probe/governance/article/1930635 Commission investigates 10 further charities in £22m cashed cheques probe] ''Third Sector'', 1 September 2025.</ref>
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 
*[[Belz non profits in the US]]
 
*[[Belz non profits in the US]]
−
 
+
* [[Agudat Yisrael]]
 +
* [[United Torah Judaism]]
 +
* [[Haredi Judaism]]
 
==Resources==
 
==Resources==
 
*https://www.timesofisrael.com/belz-hasidic-sect-to-begin-teaching-core-curriculum-more-said-to-follow/
 
*https://www.timesofisrael.com/belz-hasidic-sect-to-begin-teaching-core-curriculum-more-said-to-follow/
Line 47: Line 320:
 
*https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/mothers-face-ban-from-driving-their-children-to-orthodox-jewish-schools-in-stamford-hill-10280936.html
 
*https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/mothers-face-ban-from-driving-their-children-to-orthodox-jewish-schools-in-stamford-hill-10280936.html
 
*https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3100674/Orthodox-Jewish-sect-compared-Saudi-Arabia-banning-women-London-driving-barring-pupils-school-dropped-mothers.html
 
*https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3100674/Orthodox-Jewish-sect-compared-Saudi-Arabia-banning-women-London-driving-barring-pupils-school-dropped-mothers.html
 +
*https://www.channel4.com/news/jewish-hasidic-driving-ban-women-belz-bais-malka
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
 +
[[Category:Hasidic dynasties]]
 +
[[Category:Haredi Judaism]]
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[[Category:Jewish organisations in the United Kingdom]]
 +
[[Category:Religion in Israel]]

Latest revision as of 11:45, 13 September 2026

Hasidic Jewish dynasty originating from Belz in Galicia with major communities in Israel, the UK and the US


-
Belz Hasidic dynasty
Founded 1817 Belz, Galicia (now Ukraine)
Founder Shalom Rokeach
Leader Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach
Headquarters Jerusalem, Israel
Type Hasidic Judaism

A Hasidic sect originally located in the town of Belz in eastern Galicia near Lvov in what is now Ukraine. The Belz Hasidic Dynasty was founded by Rabbi Shalom Rokeaḥ (1783–1855), a devoted disciple of Ya‘akov Yitsḥak Horowitz, the so-called Seer of Lublin. Rokeaḥ established his famous court in Belz around 1817, attracting many followers from Poland, Galicia, and Hungary. He was known as both a miracle worker and a Talmudist, and maintained a close relationship with the Galician non-Hasidic rabbinate of his time. His everyday life was simple, and he was the first rebbe who did not dress in white (as was common for kabbalists and early Hasidic leaders).

Belz Hasidic dynasty (Yiddish: בעלזא, Belz) is a major Hasidic Jewish dynasty founded in the early 19th century in the town of Belz in Galicia, now in western Ukraine. The group re-established itself globally after the Holocaust and has significant communities in the United Kingdom, the United States and Israel. Belz Hasidic dynasty is known for its insular, highly supportive network of educational and self-help institutions and for its involvement in Haredi politics through Agudat Yisrael and United Torah Judaism (UTJ).

The dynasty was founded by Shalom Rokeach (1779–1855), known as the Sar Shalom. It grew under his successors but was nearly destroyed in the Holocaust. The fourth Rebbe, Aharon Rokeach (1877–1957), survived with his brother and re-established the court in Israel in 1944. His nephew, the current Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach (born 1948), has led since 1966 and resides in Jerusalem. The current Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach has lived in Israel his entire life since birth in 1948.

History

The Belz Hasidic dynasty originated in the town of Belz in eastern Galicia. Shalom Rokeach established the court in 1817.[1] Successors included his son Yehoshua Rokeach and grandson Yissachar Dov Rokeach (third Rebbe). During World War I the court fled to Hungary.[2]

Most of the family perished in the Holocaust. Aharon Rokeach and his brother escaped to Israel in 1944 and began rebuilding the court in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.[3] The dynasty has since maintained a pragmatic stance within Haredi society while participating in Agudat Yisrael and United Torah Judaism.

Leadership


Worked for 36s

Political parties associated with Belz

Belz is not a standalone political party. Its public politics run through Hasidic factions of Agudat Yisrael and the joint Ashkenazi Haredi list United Torah Judaism (Yahadut HaTorah) in Israel. Historically the court was among the most anti-Zionist of the large Hasidic dynasties; after 1948 it moderated that stance enough to work inside the Israeli Haredi party system while remaining focused on yeshiva funding, religious status and exemption from conscription rather than territorial or security doctrine.[4][5]

Galicia and early Agudah

In 1879 the second Belzer Rebbe, Yehoshua Rokeach, was among the founders of Galician Machzikei Hadas (Makhzikey ha-Das), an ultra-Orthodox lobby against secular Jewish politics in Lwów.[4] In the twentieth century Belz stood apart from much of Agudat Yisrael’s leadership: the third Rebbe opposed Zionism so sharply that Belz did not even join Agudas Yisroel in the interwar years.[4] After the Holocaust Aharon Rokeach eased that refusal of Agudah and of a Jewish state enough for the rebuilt Israeli court to take part in Haredi communal politics.[4]

United Torah Judaism and Agudat Yisrael

United Torah Judaism was formed in 1992 as a joint Knesset list of Hasidic Agudat Yisrael and Lithuanian (non-Hasidic) Degel HaTorah, to avoid splitting the Ashkenazi Haredi vote. Agudat Yisrael’s leading courts have long been Ger, Vizhnitz and Belz, with policy filtered through a Council of Torah Sages.[5] Belz’s organised political arm inside that world is often identified with the Machzikei HaDas (Machzikei Hadas) faction.

Seat-sharing inside Agudah has repeatedly been a source of friction. Reports of the mid-2000s recorded Belz and Vizhnitz rotating a Knesset place, and Belz complaining that it was asked to sacrifice representation.[6] Long-serving Belz Knesset member Yisrael Eichler sat for Agudat Yisrael / UTJ from 2003, with interruptions.

Role in Israeli government

UTJ has usually sat to the right of centre as a coalition partner rather than as a governing party with a foreign-policy programme. Since the 1990s its most durable partnership has been with Likud under Benjamin Netanyahu: Haredi seats in exchange for protection of yeshiva budgets, large-family supports and the special status of full-time Torah students.[6][5] In the 25th Knesset UTJ held seven of 120 seats (Shas 11). That modest total still mattered because right-wing coalitions often needed every Haredi vote.[5]

In the thirty-seventh government UTJ took housing and Jerusalem-related posts and the chair of the Knesset Finance Committee under coalition agreements signed in December 2022. Degel HaTorah, on rabbinic instruction, generally avoided full ministerial portfolios and preferred committee chairs and deputy ministries.[6]

The compact broke over conscription. After the High Court ended the old blanket yeshiva exemption, UTJ pressed for legislation restoring legal cover for students who do not serve. In July 2025 both UTJ factions left the government when they judged the draft bill inadequate; Netanyahu’s formal majority fell to a knife-edge.[7][8] Agudat Yisrael, including Hasidic MKs, took a harder line than Degel at several points in 2025–26.[8]

As of September 2026 Israel is heading for a Knesset election (27 October 2026). UTJ has not pledged to sit only with Netanyahu. Polls still put the list around seven or eight seats, enough in a hung parliament to decide a coalition — or to be replaced as kingmaker if a “Zionist unity” bloc refuses Haredi partners unless they accept a conscription law.[9][5]

Belz slate politics, 2026

In September 2026 the Belzer Rebbe’s court moved to replace Eichler with Elyakim Stark, chairman of Belz’s executive committee, as the community’s man on the Agudah side of the UTJ list.[10] Hours before the list deadline, Stark and Meir Porush (Shlomei Emunim) registered a separate vehicle, Homat Torat Yisrael / Chomas Toras Yisrael (“Wall of the Torah of Israel”), alleging that Ger’s “central faction” had delayed budget transfers. UTJ then filed as three registered parties — Degel HaTorah, Agudat Yisrael, and Chomas Toras Yisrael — while Belz and Shlomei Emunim said the split was technical, not a walk-out from Agudah. Stark was placed sixth on the submitted joint slate.[11][12]

Belz therefore remains inside the UTJ umbrella but as a distinct Machzikei HaDas bargaining unit, not as Ger’s junior partner.

List explanation

The parties and factions named under political associations are those through which Belz public politics actually run. Belz is not itself a registered party.

  • Agudat Yisrael is the Hasidic wing of Ashkenazi Haredi politics in Israel. Belz sits in this camp with Ger and Vizhnitz. Knesset members identified with Belz, including Yisrael Eichler and, for the 2026 list, Elyakim Stark, come from this side.[10]
  • United Torah Judaism is the joint Knesset list used since 1992 by Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah. Belz votes and seats appear on this ticket, not on a separate Belz list.[5]
  • Degel HaTorah is not a Belz party. It is the Lithuanian (non-Hasidic) partner on the same UTJ list. Coalition entries and walk-outs, including the July 2025 resignation over conscription legislation, are negotiated inside that wrapper rather than by Belz alone.[7]
  • Machzikei Hadas refers both to the Galician ultra-Orthodox body associated with the second Belzer Rebbe in 1879 and to the Belz faction inside Agudat Yisrael (the name used when Belz and Shlomei Emunim filed a separate technical list in September 2026).[4][12]
  • Shas is the Sephardi Haredi party. Belz has no institutional role in Shas. It is listed only as the other Haredi bloc that usually sits with UTJ in coalition arithmetic. It may be treated as related rather than as a Belz organisation.

Likud is a frequent coalition host, not a Belz party.

Outside Israel

Belz has no equivalent parliamentary party in the United Kingdom, the United States or Belgium. UK communal politics are conducted through synagogues, schools and charities (including Machzikei Hadass institutions in London and Salford) and through the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, not through a Belz ticket at Westminster or local elections. Nineteenth-century Galician Machzikei Hadas is the organisational ancestor of the name later used by Belz educational and political bodies; it should not be confused with later UK schools of similar title.

Belz today

Since 1966, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach has presided over both the expansion of Belz educational institutions and the growth of Hasidic populations in Israel, the United States, and Europe. Like other Hasidic groups, the Belz community has established a variety of self-help organizations, including one of the largest patient-advocacy organizations of its kind, a free medical counseling center, and an affordable medical treatment clinic in the New York area.[13]

Under the Rebbe's leadership, the Belz Hasidut has grown from a few hundred families at the time of his accession to leadership in 1966, to over 11,000 families, as of 2022.[14] Belz is Israel's second largest Hasidic group.

Communities

United Kingdom

Belz Hasidic communities and institutions in the United Kingdom



The British Belz Hasidic dynasty community is centred in the Stamford Hill and Upper Clapton area of the London Borough of Hackney, with further communities in Broughton Park, Salford (Greater Manchester) and Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.[15][16] Belz is one of the larger Hasidic congregations in Stamford Hill, which is the largest Haredi concentration in Europe.[17]

London

East End origins

In the 1930s an early Belz synagogue stood on Commercial Road, Limehouse, in the Jewish East End, before the community shifted north to Stamford Hill and Clapton.[18]

Stamford Hill and Clapton

The present London hub is around Clapton Common and adjoining streets. Synagogues associated with Belz and recorded by JCR-UK include Chasidey Belz Beth Hamedresh (also spelled Beth Hemedrash D'Chasidey Belz) at 99 Bethune Road, London N16 5ED, founded about 1962 and affiliated to the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations; and a congregation of the same name at 96 Clapton Common, London E5 9AL, with an additional address from about 2006 at 49 St Kilda's Road, London N16 5BS.[17][19] Community listings also record a beis hamedrash at 1 Belz Terrace, Clapton Common, London E5 9SN.

Kollel D'chasidei Belz Ltd (charity number 1186741) gives its main office as 99 Bethune Road, London N16 5ED.[20]

Belz Terrace and listed buildings

Belz Terrace, London E5 9SN, takes its name from the dynasty. The postal address covers properties historically numbered 98 and 98a Clapton Common. Historic England lists 98 Clapton Common as a Grade II building (list entry 1226457), first listed on 4 February 1975: an early- to mid-nineteenth-century three-bay villa of two storeys and attic in stock brick with stucco detail, known historically as The Woodlands.[21] The same body records “98 and 98a, Clapton Common (also known as 1–4 Belz Terrace)” on the Heritage at Risk register, in religious-organisation ownership.[22]

The neighbouring villa at 96 Clapton Common (Stainforth House) was locally listed. Both villas are among the last surviving examples of the early-nineteenth-century villa suburb developed on Clapton Common by the Tyssen family from about 1820. The Hackney Society records that the Belz Foundation acquired 96 and 98 in 1973 for school use.[23][24] A Hackney planning report of 2012 described 96, 98 and 98a as converted to nursery, school, library and synagogue use.[25]

The same postcode is used by Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School, BELZ Nursery School and Dover Sholem Community Trust (charity number 1138710).[26]

Schools

Independent Belz-associated schools in Hackney include:


Selected Belz-associated schools in London
School Address Notes
Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School 1 Belz Terrace, Clapton Common, London E5 9SN Independent Charedi boys' school, URN 100294; proprietor Moreshet Hatorah Ltd; headteacher Rabbi C. Silbiger; telephone 020 8800 6599. Founded 1973. Ofsted overall effectiveness July 2024: Requires improvement (previously Inadequate).[26][27]
BELZ Nursery School 1–4 Belz Terrace, London E5 9SN Early years setting at the same postcode as the boys' school.[26]
Beis Malka Girls' School 93 Alkham Road, London N16 6XD (nursery/Reception also at Timberwharf Road, N16 6DB) Independent girls' school ages 2–16, URN 100295; about 599 pupils. Ofsted December 2024: Requires improvement. Featured in 2015 reporting on a proposed ban on women drivers collecting pupils.[28][29][30]
Beis Aharon (Beis Aharon Dchasidei Belz Boys School) Stamford Hill (Bethune Road area) Independent Belz boys' school to age 13. Ofsted rated Inadequate, later Good (reported September 2025).[31]

Charities and offices

UK-registered charities and companies that use the Belz name, or that are the registered offices and proprietors of Belz institutions, include the following. Addresses are those on the Charity Commission or Companies House register unless noted.


Belz-named and Belz-institution charities and offices in the UK
Name Charity no. Office Notes
Cosmon (Belz) Limited (working name Cosmon Belz Ltd) 266130 34 Heathland Road, London N16 5LZ Charitable company (01064198), registered 31 October 1973. Grants for Orthodox Jewish religion and education. Gift Aid recognised. Accounts to 31 March 2021 listed grants including to Moreshet Hatorah Ltd, Dover Sholem Community Trust, Belz Kollel and Belz Manchester.[32]
Belz Israel Charitable Trust 1083890 48 Lynmouth Road, London N16 6XL Registered 30 November 2000. Grant-making for Orthodox Jewish religious education and religion, relief of poverty, and overseas aid. Operates in Hackney and Israel. Income year to 31 December 2024: £402,078; expenditure £396,616. Telephone 020 8806 5323. Trustees recorded: Charles Silbiger, Martin Imann, Pinchos Fink.[33]
Belz Foundation Ltd (previous name The Belz Heritage Foundation Ltd; working name BHF Ltd) 1112150 1 Belz Terrace, London E5 9SN Company 05423453, incorporated 13 April 2005; charity registered 18 November 2005. Grant-making in Hackney and Israel. Income year to 31 March 2025: £1.20m. Former registered addresses include 96–98 Clapton Common, E5 9AL, and 34 Heathland Road, N16 5LZ.[34][35]
Belz Communities 1111457 2 Merrybower Road, Salford M7 4HE Educational and recreational services for Orthodox Jewish families in Greater Manchester. Telephone 0161 740 9210.[36]
Belz Machnovka (M/C) Ltd 1124718 40 Wellington Street East, Salford M7 4DW Synagogue and religious centre costs in Manchester. Income year to 30 April 2025: £171,072.[37]
Friends of Mercaz Hatorah Belz Macnivka 1126075 (see Charity Commission register) Supports Mercaz Hatorah Belz Macnivka institutions in Israel and related UK activity. Named in the first tranche of the May 2025 Charity Commission class inquiry into cashed cheques.[38]
Kollel D'chasidei Belz Ltd 1186741 99 Bethune Road, London N16 5ED Registered 4 December 2019. Grants, poverty relief and religious education.[20]
Belz Gemach Fund 1046707 — Interest-free loan fund. Removed from the register; last published accounts year to 31 December 2017.[39]
The Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass Trust (see register) Linked to 1 Belz Terrace school site Named among other trusteeships of Jehudah Baumgarten of Cosmon (Belz) Limited.[40]
Moreshet Hatorah Ltd Proprietor of Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School 1 Belz Terrace, London E5 9SN School proprietor on the Department for Education register.[27]
Belz Cheder Ltd Proprietor of Talmud Torah D’chassidie Belz 157 Bevendon Square, Salford M7 4TP School proprietor; Ofsted inspection June 2024.[41]
Dover Sholem Community Trust 1138710 1 Belz Terrace, London E5 9SN Grant-making for Orthodox Jewish faith, education and poverty relief. Same address as the Belz Terrace school and foundation. Added to the Charity Commission class inquiry in September 2025.[42]
Grand Belz Ltd (see register) — Recorded as another trusteeship of Schloime Rand of Cosmon (Belz) Limited and Belz Foundation Ltd.[40]

Greater Manchester charities frequently listed in the same trustee networks as Belz communal bodies, but not all using the Belz name, include The Helping Foundation, The Sympathetic Trust, New Marston Limited, A W Charitable Trust, RNH Synagogue & College Ltd, The Sanz Foundation, The Reisner Charitable Foundation Ltd, Broom Foundation, M and M Foundation and British Friends of Ezrat Yisrael Kiryat Sefer.


Salford and Greater Manchester

Registered charities that use the Belz name, or that fund Belz synagogue and school premises in Salford and Manchester:


Belz-named charities and institutions in Salford / Manchester
Name Charity no. Office Notes
Chassidei Belz Manchester 326480 Correspondence: Haffner Hoff Ltd, 2nd Floor Parkgates, Bury New Road, Prestwich, Manchester M25 0TL Registered 12 January 1984. Funds a synagogue complex in Salford. Income year to 5 April 2025: £530,145. Trustees include Jehuda Waldman (also The Bersam Trust), Nachman Vogiel, Benjamin Leitner (also Broom Foundation, Ohr Torah Ltd).[43]
Belz Communities 1111457 2 Merrybower Road, Salford M7 4HE Registered 26 September 2005. After-school and elderly support. Telephone 0161 740 9210. Gift Aid recognised. Trustees include links to Ohr Torah Ltd and Talmud Torah Chinuch Neorim.[36]
Belz Machnovka (M/C) Ltd 1124718 40 Wellington Street East, Salford M7 4DW Registered 26 June 2008. Purchase and running costs of a Manchester synagogue and religious centre. Telephone 07773 684450. Income year to 30 April 2025: £171,072.[37]
Belz Cheder Ltd School proprietor 157 Bevendon Square, Salford M7 4TP Proprietor of Talmud Torah D’chassidie Belz (URN 149571), registered as a school 1 June 2023. Ofsted June 2024: Good.[41]
Belz Manchester (synagogue listing) — 28 Broom Lane, Manchester M19 2TW Public minyan listing; Rabbi Aharon Grunfeld. Telephone (0161) 740 9210, matching Belz Communities.[44]
The Bersam Trust 526452 2 Merrybower Road, Salford M7 4HE Same address as Belz Communities. Orthodox Jewish religion and education; operates in Salford. Trustee overlap with Chassidei Belz Manchester.[45]

Westcliff-on-Sea

The Westcliff Charedi congregation is a separate registered charity serving families who moved from Stamford Hill. It is the local Chasidic synagogue and planned mikveh operator; Belz families are among those using the wider Westcliff kehillah.

Westcliff Charedi institutions
Name Charity no. Address Notes
Westcliff Charedi Synagogue (also styled Westcliff Chareidi Synagogue) 1192449 Office: 25A Kenilworth Gardens, Westcliff-on-Sea SS0 0BE. Synagogue site: 16 Hildaville Drive, Westcliff-on-Sea SS0 8NJ CIO registered 20 November 2020. Place of worship, study and grants. Planning for a warehouse-site shul with mikveh and Succot roof-lights submitted 2020.[46][47][48]
Proposed congregation mikveh — Fleetwood Avenue, Westcliff-on-Sea (planning approved December 2025) To be operated by Westcliff Chareidi Synagogue for its own members; not a public mikveh. The congregation had previously used the Southend & Westcliff Hebrew Congregation mikveh at Genesta Road.[49]

No separate “Belz Westcliff” charity number appears on the Charity Commission register. Belz Relief Limited (1192313) is a UK poverty-relief company-charity (income year to 30 June 2025: £65,317) and is listed here for completeness of Belz-named registrations; its published objects do not specify a Salford or Westcliff office.[50]

Israel

The centre of Belz Hasidic dynasty is in Jerusalem, with communities in Bnei Brak, Tel Aviv, Ashdod and Kiryat Belz. The main landmark is the Belz Great Synagogue in Kiryat Belz, Jerusalem (completed 2002). Belz Hasidic dynasty participates in discussions on Haredi service in the IDF and has approved limited core curriculum in its schools while opposing full conscription.[1]

Settlements and occupied territory

Belz is not a settlement movement in the religious-Zionist sense. The dynasty historically opposed Zionism and did not join interwar Agudat Yisrael; after 1948 it rebuilt in Tel Aviv and then Jerusalem and entered Haredi party politics. Its housing and schools follow the wider Haredi pattern: dense neighbourhoods inside Israel proper, plus some institutions in large ultra-Orthodox towns over the Green Line that were built mainly for cheap housing rather than as ideological outposts.[4][51]

The international community, including the International Court of Justice, treats Israeli civilian settlement in territory occupied in 1967 as illegal under international humanitarian law. The Israeli government disputes that characterisation. The notes below record where Belz institutions are documented; they do not treat every Haredi address in the West Bank as a Belz political project.

Jerusalem and Kiryat Belz

The global centre is Kiryat Belz in northern municipal Jerusalem (borders include Romema, Tel Arza, Kiryat Unsdorf, Kiryat Mattersdorf and Kiryat Sanz). The neighbourhood and the Belz Great Synagogue (cornerstone 1984; dedicated 2000) sit in the Israeli-defined city, not in the West Bank settlement blocs and not in the East Jerusalem Palestinian neighbourhoods that dominate annexation reporting (Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, Ras al-Amud).[52] Expanded municipal Jerusalem after 1967 remains disputed. No reliable source was found that presents Kiryat Belz as an East Jerusalem settlement planted in a confiscated Palestinian neighbourhood.

West Bank

Lists of Belz yeshivas include a yeshiva gedola in Beitar (Beitar Illit), the large Haredi city in the Gush Etzion area south-west of Jerusalem.[53] Beitar Illit and Modi'in Illit (Kiryat Sefer) are the two biggest Haredi settlements; together they account for a large share of the ultra-Orthodox population living over the Green Line. Residents and mayors have repeatedly said families moved there because the state directed subsidised housing there, not because of Gush Emunim-style ideology.[51] Hasidic groups documented as numerous in Beitar Illit include Bobov, Boston, Boyan, Breslov, Karlin-Stolin and Slonim; Belz is not named as the founding or dominant court of that city.[54]

No source was found that Belz founded an outpost, hilltop or named settlement in the northern West Bank, Jordan Valley or Hebron Hills, or that the Rebbe directed a Belz colonisation programme comparable to religious-Zionist settlement NGOs.

British Friends of Ezrat Yisrael Kiryat Sefer

British Friends of Ezrat Yisrael Kiryat Sefer (charity number 1136917) is a Salford grant-making trust, registered 15 July 2010. Its published activity is “grants in line with the trust deed.” The Commission records operation in Manchester and Israel. It is not Gift Aid recognised and declares no policies. Office: 66 Wellington Street East, Salford M7 4DW. Telephone 0161 792 1230.[55]

Income and spending are large for a three-trustee poverty-relief vehicle: year to 31 July 2024, income £3.40 million and expenditure £3.95 million; findthatcharity records £4.23 million incoming for the year to 31 July 2025.[55][56]

Link to Belz

The charity does not use “Belz” in its title. The link is through trusteeship. David Neuwirth is a trustee and is also a trustee of Belz Communities (1111457) and of the Salford cluster that includes Ohr Torah Ltd, Broom Foundation, New Marston Limited, The Helping Foundation, The Reisner Charitable Foundation Ltd, RNH Synagogue & College Ltd, The Sanz Foundation, The Sympathetic Trust and Convalescent Retreat Limited. Fellow trustees Refoel Halpern and Nissim Hassan overlap the same Salford companies.[57]

That is a Belz-network charity in Greater Manchester, not a London Belz Foundation or Cosmon (Belz) vehicle.

Kiryat Sefer / Modi'in Illit

Kiryat Sefer is the Haredi name for the core of Modi'in Illit, the largest Israeli settlement city in the West Bank (east of the Green Line in the hills of Binyamin). The international community treats civilian settlement there as illegal under occupation law; 'Israel' disputes that. The city’s population is overwhelmingly Haredi and grew as a state-backed housing outlet for Bnei Brak and similar communities, not as a Belz-founded colony.[51]

The charity’s name and “Israel” classification mean grants are aimed at people and institutions associated with that town. The register does not publish a grant-by-grant list on the overview page.

Gaza

Israel dismantled its Gaza settlements in 2005. No Belz town, yeshiva campus or court in the Gaza Strip appears in standard settlement or dynasty lists. During the post-7 October 2023 war the Belzer Rebbe was reported as cancelling a usual holiday trip and as joining other Hasidic courts in draft-evaluation disputes; that is wartime communal politics inside Israel, not a Gaza settlement presence.[58]

Golan Heights

No Belz settlement, neighbourhood or yeshiva in the Israeli-occupied Golan was identified. A well-known 1972 report of Hasidim visiting Golan trenches concerned Chabad-Lubavitch, not Belz.[59]

Related wording

Belz publications sometimes use “settlement” for new housing estates in the United States (for example a planned “Kiryas Belz USA” near New York and New Jersey). That usage means a suburban community, not an occupied-territory settlement.[60]

United States

Belz Hasidic dynasty maintains sizable communities in Brooklyn (Borough Park), Monsey and Lakewood with dedicated yeshivas and synagogues following the same insular model.

Political and social role

Belz (Hasidic dynasty) has been affiliated with Agudat Yisrael since the post-Holocaust period and forms part of the Agudat Yisrael faction within United Torah Judaism (UTJ) in Israel. The current Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach guides this faction. Belz Hasidic dynasty has taken pragmatic positions on some Haredi issues including education and IDF service protocols but remains opposed to full conscription. It is not prominently linked to West Bank settlements.


Belz yeshivas

Belz maintains 12 yeshivas in Israel: 7 yeshiva gedolas (including two in Ashdod, and one each in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Betar, Bet shemesh, and Haifa); 5 yeshiva ketanas (in Telzstone, Bnei Brak, Ashdod, Beit Hilkia, and Komemiyut); and 7 other yeshiva ketanas around the world — in Antwerp, London, Montreal, Monsey, and three in Borough Park, Brooklyn, and one in Lakewood, New Jersey.

The Belz network of girls' schools are under the names Bnos Belz and Beis Malka.

The rapper Shyne, who converted to Judaism, studied with Hasidim from the Belz group in Jerusalem.[61]

Notable Belz Hasidim


Key events and controversies

  • 2015 female driving ban: UK leadership issued guidance barring children of mothers who drove from Belz Hasidic dynasty schools, based on advice from the Rebbe in Israel. The policy was retracted after investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.[62][63]
  • 2017 Rebbe visit: Thousands attended the visit by Yissachar Dov Rokeach to London to open the new facility.

Timeline

  • 1779: Birth of Shalom Rokeach (the Sar Shalom), founder of the dynasty; some reference works give 1783.[2][1]
  • c. 1816–1817: Shalom Rokeach is appointed rabbi of Belz (eastern Galicia, now Ukraine) and establishes the Belz Hasidic dynasty court; YIVO dates the court to around 1817.[1][64]
  • 1843: Dedication of the Great Synagogue of Belz, a fortress-style building later destroyed after the 1939 German occupation.[52]
  • 1855: Death of the first Rebbe; succeeded by his youngest son Yehoshua Rokeach (1825–1894).[2][1]
  • 1879: Yehoshua Rokeach is among the founders of Machzikei Hadas (Makhzikey ha-Das), the Galician ultra-Orthodox political organisation.[1][64]
  • 1894: Death of the second Rebbe; succeeded by Yissachar Dov Rokeach (third Rebbe; 1854–1926).[2][1]
  • 1914–1918: The court flees Belz during the First World War; the third Rebbe sojourns in Hungary, including Munkács, before returning toward Galicia.[1][2]
  • 1921–1925: After Hungary the third Rebbe settles first at Holschitz near Jarosław and returns to Belz in 1925.[2]
  • 1926: Death of the third Rebbe; succeeded by his eldest son Aharon Rokeach (fourth Rebbe; born 1880 per Judaica sources).[1][2][64]
  • 1930s: An early Belz synagogue operates on Commercial Road in London’s East End, before the later shift to Stamford Hill.[18]
  • 1939: German occupation of Belz; the Great Synagogue is wrecked (attempts to burn and dynamite it are followed by forced demolition).[52]
  • 1943: Aharon Rokeach and his brother Mordechai Rokeach of Biłgoraj escape the Bochnia ghetto and reach Budapest.[1]
  • 1944: The surviving brothers reach the Land of Israel (Tel Aviv) and begin to rebuild the court; Belz later marks this arrival as Yom Hahatzalah.[1][65]
  • 1948: Birth of Yissachar Dov Rokeach (fifth and current Rebbe), only son of Mordechai of Biłgoraj, in Israel; his uncle Aharon is sandek at the bris.[1][65]
  • 1949: Death of Mordechai Rokeach of Biłgoraj.[1]
  • 1954–1957: Cornerstone and completion of a Belz yeshiva and study hall in Jerusalem under Aharon.[64]
  • 21 Av 1957: Death of the fourth Rebbe Aharon Rokeach; a leadership interregnum follows while the orphaned nephew is prepared for office.[1][65]
  • 1962: Chasidey Belz Beth Hamedresh on Bethune Road, Stamford Hill, is founded about this year (UOHC-affiliated).[17]
  • 1965: Marriage of the future fifth Rebbe in Kiryat Vizhnitz, Bnei Brak.[65]
  • June–July 1966: Yissachar Dov Rokeach accepts the leadership and is installed as fifth Belzer Rebbe in Jerusalem (28 July 1966 in some accounts), aged 18.[1][64]
  • 1973: Belz Foundation acquires 96 and 98 Clapton Common, London, for school use; Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School is later recorded as founded in 1973 at what becomes 1 Belz Terrace.[24][66]
  • 12 October 1975: Birth of Aharon Mordechai Rokeach, son of the fifth Rebbe.[65]
  • 1984: Cornerstone of the new Belz Great Synagogue in Kiryat Belz, Jerusalem.[52]
  • 1993: Wedding of Aharon Mordechai Rokeach in Kiryat Belz.[65]
  • 2000: Dedication of the Belz Great Synagogue in Jerusalem after about fifteen years of construction, built as an enlarged replica of the 1843 Belz shul.[52]
  • May–June 2015: London Belz leadership instructs that women should not drive, including school collection; the Equality and Human Rights Commission calls such a ban unlawful; schools including Beis Malka step back from gate enforcement.[62][16][63]
  • 2017: The fifth Rebbe visits the UK in connection with a new London central beis midrash and Talmud Torah facility.[63]
  • 2020: Westcliff Charedi Synagogue registered as a CIO; planning submitted for a Hildaville Drive synagogue and mikveh serving Chasidic families who had moved from Stamford Hill.[47]
  • May–September 2025: UK Charity Commission class inquiry into cashed cheques names Friends of Mercaz Hatorah Belz Macnivka (May) and Dover Sholem Community Trust at 1 Belz Terrace (September) among charities under investigation. An inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing.[38][67]

See also

Resources

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 David Assaf, Belz Hasidic Dynasty YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, accessed 5 May 2026. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "YIVO" defined multiple times with different content
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Jewish Virtual Library, Belz Hasidic dynasty Jewish Virtual Library, accessed 5 May 2026. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "JVL" defined multiple times with different content
  3. ↑ Yad Vashem, Dispute between Munkacs and Belz Hasidim Yad Vashem, accessed 5 May 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 David Assaf, Belz Hasidic Dynasty YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, 12 February 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Jerusalem Post, What do Arye Deri's Shas and Yaakov Asher's United Torah Judaism stand for? Jerusalem Post, 10 September 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Eitan Chikli, United Torah Judaism: Lithuanian and Hasidic Judaism at the Heart of Israeli Politics Times of Israel blogs, 23 August 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Bloomberg, Netanyahu’s Coalition Shrinks After Ultra-Orthodox Party Quits 15 July 2025.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Alex Lederman, Controlling the Coalition’s Collapse Israel Policy Forum, 19 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Herb Keinon, Haredi alliance with Benjamin Netanyahu shifts as Moshe Gafni ousted from Degel Hatorah Jerusalem Post, 6 September 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Joseph Feldman, Charedi Political Shakeup Continues as Belz Moves to Replace Eichler VIN News, 7 September 2026.
  11. ↑ Israel National News, Last minute drama in United Torah Judaism party 8 September 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Yeshiva World News, After Split And Hours Of Turmoil, UTJ Submits Party Slate 9 September 2026.
  13. ↑ Tribute to Rabbi Yisocher Dov Rokeach, the Belzer Rebbe, Upon His Visit to New York – Hon. Jerrold Nadler |20 June 1995, Congressional Record, 104th Congress (1995–1996)
  14. ↑ Landesman, Yerucham. "Born to Lead: How did the Belzer Rebbe breathe new life into a shattered Chassidus?" Mishpacha, 10 October 2011, pp. 30–51.
  15. ↑ Haroon Siddique, Ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect's female driver ban 'unlawful and discriminatory' The Guardian, 5 June 2015.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Simon Rocker, Stamford Hill sect bans women drivers Jewish Chronicle, 8 May 2015.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 JCR-UK, Chasidey Belz Beth Hemedrash, Bethune Road JewishGen / JCR-UK, updated 15 March 2015.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Jewish East End of London, Memories of the Belzer synagogue jewisheastend.com, accessed 13 September 2026.
  19. ↑ JCR-UK, Chasidey Belz Beth Hemedrash, Clapton Common JewishGen / JCR-UK, updated 16 March 2015.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Giving is Great, Kollel D'chasidei Belz Ltd Giving is Great, accessed 13 September 2026.
  21. ↑ Historic England, 98, CLAPTON COMMON E5 National Heritage List for England, list entry 1226457.
  22. ↑ Historic England, 98 and 98a, Clapton Common (also known as 1-4 Belz Terrace) E5 - Hackney Heritage at Risk Register, accessed 13 September 2026.
  23. ↑ Hackney Society, Clapton Common walk Hackney Society, accessed 13 September 2026.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Julia Lafferty, 98 Clapton Common Hackney Society / 71 Spaces, accessed 13 September 2026. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Hackney71" defined multiple times with different content
  25. ↑ London Borough of Hackney, Planning Sub-Committee report: 96, 98 & 98A Clapton Common Hackney Council, 15 August 2012.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Ofsted, Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School Ofsted, URN 100294, address 1 Belz Terrace, Clapton Common, London E5 9SN.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Department for Education, Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School Get Information about Schools, URN 100294.
  28. ↑ Department for Education, Beis Malka Girls' School Get Information about Schools, URN 100295.
  29. ↑ Ofsted, Beis Malka Girls' School Ofsted, URN 100295.
  30. ↑ Channel 4 News, Jewish sect schools back down over driving ban Channel 4 News, May 2015.
  31. ↑ Simon Rocker, Chasidic boys’ school in Stamford Hill receives good rating from Ofsted Jewish Chronicle, 8 September 2025.
  32. ↑ Charity Commission, COSMON (BELZ) LIMITED - 266130 Register of Charities, accessed 13 September 2026.
  33. ↑ Charity Commission, BELZ ISRAEL CHARITABLE TRUST - 1083890 Register of Charities, accessed 13 September 2026.
  34. ↑ Companies House, BELZ FOUNDATION LTD company 05423453, accessed 13 September 2026.
  35. ↑ Charity Commission, BELZ FOUNDATION LTD - 1112150 Register of Charities, accessed 13 September 2026.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Charity Commission, BELZ COMMUNITIES contact Register of Charities, accessed 13 September 2026.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Charity Commission, BELZ MACHNOVKA (M/C) LTD - 1124718 Register of Charities, accessed 13 September 2026.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025.
  39. ↑ Charity Commission, BELZ GEMACH FUND - 1046707 Register of Charities, accessed 13 September 2026.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Charity Commission, Trustees COSMON (BELZ) LIMITED Register of Charities, accessed 13 September 2026.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Ofsted, Inspection of Talmud Torah D’chassidie Belz Ofsted, 4–6 June 2024.
  42. ↑ Charity Commission, DOVER SHOLEM COMMUNITY TRUST - 1138710 Register of Charities, accessed 12 September 2026.
  43. ↑ Charity Commission, CHASSIDEI BELZ MANCHESTER - 326480 Register of Charities, accessed 13 September 2026.
  44. ↑ GoDaven, Belz Manchester godaven.com, updated 21 June 2020.
  45. ↑ Charity Commission, THE BERSAM TRUST Register of Charities, accessed 13 September 2026.
  46. ↑ Giving is Great, Westcliff Charedi Synagogue Giving is Great, accessed 13 September 2026.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 JCR-UK, Westcliff Charedi Synagogue JewishGen / JCR-UK, accessed 13 September 2026.
  48. ↑ Aleks Phillips, Westcliff Charedim reveal plans for a synagogue on warehouse site Jewish Chronicle, 11 November 2020.
  49. ↑ Christine Sexton, Westcliff home approved to become new Jewish ritual bath Echo, 19 December 2025.
  50. ↑ Charity Commission, BELZ RELIEF LIMITED - 1192313 Register of Charities, accessed 13 September 2026.
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 Times of Israel, Black is the new orange: 30% of settlers are now Haredim Times of Israel.
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 52.3 52.4 Alex Winston, Kiryat Belz: Unveiling Jerusalem’s Hassidic gem Jerusalem Post, 11 August 2024. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "JPostKiryat" defined multiple times with different content
  53. ↑ Community and encyclopaedia lists of Belz yeshivas name Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Ashdod, Beitar and Haifa among Israeli sites; Beitar Illit is beyond the Green Line.
  54. ↑ Local community guides describe Beitar Illit as mixed Haredi/Hasidic; Belz is not listed as the founding sect.
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Charity Commission, BRITISH FRIENDS OF EZRAT YISRAEL KIRYAT SEFER - 1136917 Register of Charities, accessed 13 September 2026.
  56. ↑ Find that Charity, British Friends of Ezrat Yisrael Kiryat Sefer GB-CHC-1136917.
  57. ↑ Charity Commission, Trustees BRITISH FRIENDS OF EZRAT YISRAEL KIRYAT SEFER Register of Charities, accessed 13 September 2026.
  58. ↑ Israel National News Belz tag index, items on draft evaluations and wartime travel, accessed 13 September 2026.
  59. ↑ Moshe Brilliant, Hasidic Jews, in Flowing Beards and Black Hats, Bring Religion to Golan Trenches New York Times, 10 December 1972.
  60. ↑ World of Belz, NEW BELZ SETTLEMENT IN THE USA worldofbelz.org, 1 January 2026.
  61. ↑ Shyne: The Bad-Boy Rap Star Who's Now a Chassid CrownHeights.info - Chabad News, Crown Heights News, Lubavitch News
  62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 Haroon Siddique, Ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect's female driver ban 'unlawful and discriminatory' The Guardian, 5 June 2015.
  63. ↑ 63.0 63.1 63.2 Channel 4 News, Jewish sect schools back down over driving ban Channel 4 News, May 2015.
  64. ↑ 64.0 64.1 64.2 64.3 64.4 Mishpacha, A Kingdom Rebuilt: How Rav Aharon Rokeach brought postwar Belz back to life Mishpacha, accessed 13 September 2026.
  65. ↑ 65.0 65.1 65.2 65.3 65.4 65.5 Mishpacha, Born to Lead Mishpacha, accessed 13 September 2026.
  66. ↑ Ofsted, Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School emergency inspection 5 December 2019 (school founded 1973).
  67. ↑ Charlie Moloney, Commission investigates 10 further charities in £22m cashed cheques probe Third Sector, 1 September 2025.
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