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A looming political storm over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military is jeopardizing the administration and splitting the state.

The public mood on the question has shifted dramatically in Israel following two years of hostilities, and this is now possibly the most divisive political issue facing the Prime Minister.

The Constitutional Conflict

Legislators are now debating a proposal to abolish the special status granted to Haredi students dedicated to Torah study, instituted when the State of Israel was founded in 1948.

The deferment was struck down by the Supreme Court two decades ago. Stopgap solutions to extend it were officially terminated by the bench last year, pressuring the cabinet to begin drafting the Haredi sector.

Some 24,000 call-up papers were sent out last year, but just approximately 1,200 men from the community reported for duty, according to defense officials presented to lawmakers.

Tensions Erupt Into Public View

Strains are boiling over onto the city centers, with parliamentarians now debating a new draft bill to compel ultra-Orthodox men into military service alongside other Jewish citizens.

Two representatives were targeted this month by hardline activists, who are furious with the Knesset's deliberations of the proposed law.

Recently, a special Border Police unit had to assist army police who were attacked by a sizeable mob of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they attempted to detain a man avoiding service.

These enforcement actions have prompted the establishment of a new messaging system dubbed "Dark Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through Haredi neighborhoods and mobilize protesters to stop detentions from occurring.

"We're a Jewish country," said one protester. "It's impossible to battle the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. That is untenable."

An Environment Separate

Yet the shifts blowing through Israel have not reached the environment of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in Bnei Brak, an Haredi enclave on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, scholars sit in pairs to analyze Jewish law, their brightly coloured writing books popping against the seats of light-colored shirts and small black kippahs.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see a significant portion are engaged in learning," the leader of the seminary, a senior rabbi, noted. "By studying Torah, we safeguard the soldiers on the front lines. This is how we contribute."

Haredi Jews maintain that constant study and spiritual pursuit protect Israel's armed forces, and are as vital to its defense as its advanced weaponry. That belief was endorsed by previous governments in the previous eras, the rabbi said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Increasing Public Pressure

The ultra-Orthodox population has grown substantially its percentage of the country's people over the last seventy years, and now accounts for around one in seven. An exemption that started as an exception for several hundred yeshiva attendees turned into, by the start of the 2023 war, a cohort of tens of thousands of men exempt from the draft.

Surveys indicate approval of ultra-Orthodox conscription is growing. A poll in July found that an overwhelming percentage of secular and traditional Jews - including a significant majority in the Prime Minister's political base - supported penalties for those who ignored a call-up notice, with a clear majority in favor of withdrawing benefits, travel documents, or the electoral participation.

"It makes me feel there are people who reside in this nation without contributing," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv commented.

"It is my belief, regardless of piety, [it] should be an reason not to go and serve your nation," said a Tel Aviv resident. "If you're born here, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to avoid service just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Perspectives from Inside the Community

Support for ending the exemption is also found among observant Jews not part of the Haredi community, like Dorit Barak, who resides close to the academy and highlights religious Zionists who do serve in the military while also engaging in religious study.

"It makes me angry that ultra-Orthodox people don't enlist," she said. "It's unfair. I am also committed to the Torah, but there's a proverb in Hebrew - 'The Book and the Sword' – it represents the scripture and the defense together. That's the way forward, until the days of peace."

The resident runs a modest remembrance site in the neighborhood to soldiers from the area, both from all backgrounds, who were lost in conflict. Lines of images {