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A looming political storm over drafting Haredi men into the military is posing a risk to the administration and fracturing the nation.

Public opinion on the issue has shifted dramatically in Israel following two years of hostilities, and this is now arguably the most divisive political challenge facing the Prime Minister.

The Constitutional Conflict

Politicians are currently considering a draft bill to end the exemption given to Haredi students dedicated to full-time religious study, established when the the nation was founded in 1948.

This arrangement was ruled illegal by Israel's High Court of Justice almost 20 years ago. Stopgap solutions to extend it were formally ended by the judiciary last year, pressuring the cabinet to commence conscription of the community.

Approximately 24,000 enlistment orders were sent out last year, but just approximately 1,200 men from the community reported for duty, according to military testimony presented to lawmakers.

Strains Boil Over Into Public View

Friction is spilling onto the streets, with parliamentarians now deliberating a new conscription law to require ultra-Orthodox men into national service alongside other Israeli Jews.

Two representatives were targeted this month by radical elements, who are enraged with the legislative debate of the bill.

And last week, a special Border Police unit had to rescue enforcement personnel who were targeted by a sizeable mob of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they tried to arrest a suspected draft-evader.

These arrests have prompted the establishment of a new alert system dubbed "Black Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and mobilize protesters to prevent arrests from occurring.

"We're a Jewish country," said Shmuel Orbach. "It's impossible to battle religious practice in a Jewish country. It is a contradiction."

A Realm Apart

But the changes blowing through Israel have failed to penetrate the environment of the Torah academy in Bnei Brak, an religious community on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, teenage boys sit in pairs to analyze the Torah, their brightly coloured writing books popping against the rows of formal attire and head coverings.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see many of the students are pursuing religious study," the head of the academy, Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, noted. "Via dedicated learning, we protect the soldiers on the front lines. This constitutes our service."

The community holds that constant study and religious study defend Israel's soldiers, and are as vital to its defense as its tanks and air force. This conviction was acknowledged by Israel's politicians in the previous eras, the rabbi said, but he conceded that the nation is evolving.

Increasing Societal Anger

This religious sector has grown substantially its proportion of the nation's citizens over the past seven decades, and now accounts for 14%. A policy that originated as an exception for a small number of Torah scholars became, by the beginning of the 2023 war, a group of some 60,000 men exempt from the draft.

Surveys show support for ultra-Orthodox conscription is rising. Research in July showed that 85% of non-Haredi Jews - including a large segment in the Prime Minister's political base - favored consequences for those who declined a call-up notice, with a clear majority in favor of removing privileges, passports, or the electoral participation.

"I feel there are citizens who reside in this country without serving," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv explained.

"It is my belief, however religious you are, [it] should be an excuse not to perform service your country," stated Gabby. "If you're born here, I find it rather absurd that you want to exempt yourself just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Voices from the Heart of a Religious City

Backing for broadening conscription is also expressed by observant Jews not part of the Haredi community, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who lives near the yeshiva and highlights non-Haredi religious Jews who do perform national service while also engaging in religious study.

"I'm very angry that the Haredim don't enlist," she said. "It's unfair. I too follow the Jewish law, but there's a proverb in Hebrew - 'The Book and the Sword' – it signifies the Torah and the weapons together. That's the way forward, until the messianic era."

She manages a modest remembrance site in the neighborhood to fallen servicemen, both religious and secular, who were killed in battle. Long columns of images {