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A gathering political storm over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military is jeopardizing the governing coalition and dividing the nation.

The public mood on the question has changed profoundly in Israel after two years of hostilities, and this is now perhaps the most volatile political challenge facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Legal Battle

Politicians are reviewing a proposal to end the exemption granted to yeshiva scholars enrolled in Torah study, created when the State of Israel was declared in 1948.

That exemption was declared unconstitutional by the nation's top court in the early 2000s. Temporary arrangements to extend it were officially terminated by the bench last year, pressuring the administration to start enlisting the community.

Some 24,000 draft notices were issued last year, but just approximately 1,200 Haredi conscripts enlisted, according to army data given to lawmakers.

Tensions Erupt Onto the Streets

Friction is spilling onto the public squares, with lawmakers now deliberating a new conscription law to require yeshiva students into army duty in the same way as other Jewish citizens.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were harassed this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are incensed with parliament's discussion of the proposed law.

In a recent incident, a special Border Police unit had to assist Military Police officers who were surrounded by a big group of community members as they tried to arrest a alleged conscription dodger.

Such incidents have led to the development of a new messaging system named "Black Alert" to spread word quickly through the religious sector and mobilize protesters to prevent arrests from taking place.

"This is a Jewish state," stated an activist. "One cannot oppose the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. That is untenable."

A Realm Separate

But the transformations affecting Israel have not yet breached the environment of the Torah academy in an ultra-Orthodox city, an ultra-Orthodox city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, scholars learn in partnerships to debate Judaism's religious laws, their brightly coloured notepads popping against the rows of light-colored shirts and head coverings.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see many of the students are engaged in learning," the leader of the seminary, a senior rabbi, explained. "Via dedicated learning, we shield the troops in the field. This is our army."

The community holds that constant study and religious study protect Israel's armed forces, and are as essential to its military success as its conventional forces. This conviction was acknowledged by the nation's leaders in the previous eras, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he admitted that Israel was changing.

Growing Public Pressure

This religious sector has more than doubled its share of Israel's population over the last seventy years, and now represents 14%. An exemption that started as an exception for several hundred yeshiva attendees became, by the start of the 2023 war, a body of tens of thousands of men exempt from the national service.

Opinion polls suggest backing for ultra-Orthodox conscription is growing. A survey in July revealed that an overwhelming percentage of the broader Jewish public - even a significant majority in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - supported penalties for those who declined a call-up notice, with a firm majority in approving withdrawing benefits, the right to travel, or the franchise.

"It makes me feel there are people who live in this nation without contributing," one serviceman in Tel Aviv commented.

"It is my belief, regardless of piety, [it] should be an excuse not to fulfill your duty to your nation," stated a young woman. "If you're born here, I find it rather absurd that you want to opt out just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Perspectives from Within the Community

Support for broadening conscription is also coming from religious Jews not part of the Haredi community, like one local resident, who lives near the yeshiva and points to religious Zionists who do enlist in the army while also engaging in religious study.

"I am frustrated that the Haredim don't serve in the army," she said. "It's unfair. I too follow the Jewish law, but there's a proverb in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it means the scripture and the guns together. That is the path, until the arrival of peace."

Ms Barak manages a small memorial in Bnei Brak to fallen servicemen, both observant and non-observant, who were killed in battle. Rows of photographs {