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A looming political storm over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israel Defense Forces is jeopardizing Israel's government and dividing the country.

Popular sentiment on the issue has changed profoundly in Israel in the wake of two years of hostilities, and this is now perhaps the most volatile political issue facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Legal Battle

Politicians are now debating a piece of legislation to abolish the special status given to ultra-Orthodox men enrolled in Torah study, instituted when the the nation was established in 1948.

That exemption was struck down by Israel's High Court of Justice two decades ago. Temporary arrangements to maintain it were finally concluded by the judiciary last year, forcing the government to commence conscription of the Haredi sector.

Some 24,000 call-up papers were delivered last year, but only around 1,200 men from the community showed up, according to military testimony presented to lawmakers.

Tensions Erupt Onto the Streets

Strains are boiling over onto the public squares, with parliamentarians now debating a new legislative proposal to require ultra-Orthodox men into army duty alongside other secular Israelis.

Two Haredi politicians were confronted this month by radical elements, who are enraged with the Knesset's deliberations of the draft legislation.

Recently, a specialized force had to extract Military Police officers who were surrounded by a large crowd of Haredi men as they tried to arrest a alleged conscription dodger.

These enforcement actions have led to the development of a new alert system called "Emergency Alert" to spread word quickly through ultra-Orthodox communities and summon demonstrators to prevent arrests from happening.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," remarked an activist. "One cannot oppose religious practice in a Jewish state. It is a contradiction."

A Realm Set Aside

Yet the changes sweeping across Israel have not reached the walls of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in a Haredi stronghold, an religious community on the edge of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, teenage boys learn in partnerships to discuss Jewish law, their distinctive notepads contrasting with the rows of light-colored shirts and head coverings.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see a significant portion are pursuing religious study," the dean of the seminary, a senior rabbi, said. "Through religious study, we shield the soldiers wherever they are. This is how we contribute."

The community holds that continuous prayer and Torah learning protect Israel's soldiers, and are as essential to its military success as its tanks and air force. This tenet was acknowledged by previous governments in the previous eras, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he admitted that Israel was changing.

Growing Public Pressure

The ultra-Orthodox population has grown substantially its share of the nation's citizens over the since the state's founding, and now represents 14%. An exemption that started as an deferment for a small number of yeshiva attendees evolved into, by the onset of the Gaza war, a cohort of tens of thousands of men left out of the national service.

Polling data indicate backing for ultra-Orthodox conscription is increasing. A survey in July revealed that 85% of the broader Jewish public - even a large segment in the Prime Minister's political base - supported penalties for those who ignored a call-up notice, with a firm majority in approving withdrawing benefits, the right to travel, or the franchise.

"I feel there are citizens who are part of this country without giving anything back," one military member in Tel Aviv explained.

"It is my belief, regardless of piety, [it] should be an reason not to go and serve your nation," added Gabby. "As a citizen by birth, I find it rather absurd that you want to avoid service just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Views from Within Bnei Brak

Advocacy of broadening conscription is also coming from observant Jews beyond the Haredi community, like one local resident, who is a neighbor of the academy and notes non-Haredi religious Jews who do enlist in the army while also studying Torah.

"It makes me angry that the Haredim don't serve in the army," she said. "It is unjust. I too follow the Jewish law, but there's a teaching in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the Torah and the weapons together. That's the way forward, until the messianic era."

She manages a modest remembrance site in her city to fallen servicemen, both observant and non-observant, who were fallen in war. Long columns of images {