The Haredi Camp
Belz Hasidism’s official weekly newspaper and a long-standing voice of Haredi religious, communal and public life
The Haredi Camp, initially also published under the name Kol Machzikei HaDat, is a Haredi weekly newspaper associated with Belz Hasidism. For decades, it has served as an important platform for presenting the movement’s religious and communal positions, reporting on its affairs and communicating Torah-oriented guidance and public perspectives to its readership.
From Galician roots to Israeli Haredi journalism
The newspaper’s origins reflect an earlier tradition of Haredi Jewish publishing. In the 1970s, it began appearing under the auspices of Belz Hasidism as a magazine-style monthly called Kol Machzikei HaDat. Its name recalled a nineteenth-century newspaper published in Galicia by the Machzikei HaDat organization, established at the initiative of Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach of Belz. The new publication thus connected Belz’s historical heritage with the communication needs of its community in modern Israel.
In the late 1970s, the monthly ceased publication in that format and reappeared several times a year as a magazine called The Haredi Camp. Rabbi Yisrael Eichler served as its editor. In the Hebrew month of Shevat in 1980, the publication became a weekly, giving it a more regular and visible place in communal life.
The official voice of Belz Hasidism
The Haredi Camp functions as the official publication of Belz Hasidism. Its role extends beyond reporting events. It presents Torah-oriented messages, communal news, articles and positions relating to the life of the Hasidic movement and its approach to public questions. At times, instructions concerning the content and character of articles have come from the Belzer Rebbe, reflecting the religious leadership structure of the Hasidic community and the close relationship between its spiritual authority and its communications institutions.
During its early years, the newspaper accompanied Belz Hasidism’s struggle with the Edah HaChareidis, from which the movement had separated, and later covered the dispute with Machnovka-Belz Hasidism. At times, it also expressed opposition to actions by members of the Knesset representing Agudat Yisrael, even though Belz Hasidism was part of the party. These episodes illustrate the newspaper’s internal role as a forum for debate, public positioning and the shaping of communal identity within Haredi society.
A newspaper embedded in communal life
The newspaper’s offices are located in Kiryat Belz in Jerusalem, the central neighborhood of the Hasidic community. Its manager is Mordechai Brisk, who also serves as chairman of Belz’s Machzikei HaDat kashrut system. This institutional connection gives the newspaper a role within a broader communal network that includes religious leadership, education, religious services, kashrut and social frameworks.
In 2013, the newspaper adopted a more modern design and expanded its subscription system. The changes represented an effort to preserve a publication with a distinct Hasidic identity while adapting its presentation and circulation to changing reading habits.
The newspaper also has a branch in Borough Park, Brooklyn, which publishes an English-language edition. This extension reflects the international character of Belz Hasidism and the continuing ties between Hasidic communities in Israel, the United States and other Jewish centers.
Why this legacy belongs in Moreshet
The Haredi Camp merits inclusion in Moreshet because it documents and expresses an important chapter in the history of Haredi journalism and in the communal life of Belz Hasidism. Over many decades, it has provided a means through which a large Jewish community could articulate its positions, maintain ties among its members and transmit religious messages and traditions across generations.
Its significance extends beyond the history of one weekly newspaper. Its transition from a monthly to a magazine and then to a weekly, its base in Kiryat Belz and its English-language edition in Borough Park together reflect the development of a Hasidic community with major centers in Israel and the Diaspora. The publication therefore offers a useful lens on the way community journalism can strengthen Jewish identity, organization and cultural continuity. Preserving such records alongside the stories of Jewish institutions, people and creative achievements is part of the work of Moreshet.com: documenting the many voices that make up Jewish and Israeli heritage.