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

The public mood on the question has shifted dramatically in Israel after two years of hostilities, and this is now possibly the most volatile political challenge facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Legal Struggle

Politicians are reviewing a piece of legislation to end the exemption granted to Haredi students dedicated to full-time religious study, instituted when the modern Israel was established in 1948.

That exemption was ruled illegal by Israel's High Court of Justice two decades ago. Temporary arrangements to continue it were officially terminated by the bench last year, pressuring the administration to commence conscription of the community.

Approximately 24,000 enlistment orders were delivered last year, but merely about 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees reported for duty, according to army data given to lawmakers.

Tensions Spill Into Violence

Strains are boiling over onto the city centers, with elected officials now debating a new conscription law to compel Haredi males into national service alongside other Jewish citizens.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were harassed this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are enraged with the Knesset's deliberations of the bill.

And last week, a special Border Police unit had to assist army police who were targeted by a sizeable mob of community members as they tried to arrest a alleged conscription dodger.

These enforcement actions have prompted the establishment of a new communication network named "Dark Alert" to send out instant alerts through ultra-Orthodox communities and call out activists to prevent arrests from happening.

"This is a Jewish state," remarked an activist. "You can't fight against Judaism in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It doesn't work."

A World Separate

However the changes blowing through Israel have failed to penetrate the environment of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox city on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, teenage boys learn in partnerships to analyze the Torah, their distinctive notepads popping against the lines of white shirts and head coverings.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see many of the students are studying Torah," the dean of the seminary, a senior rabbi, said. "Via dedicated learning, we shield the military personnel in the field. This is our army."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that unceasing devotion and religious study protect Israel's military, and are as vital to its military success as its tanks and air force. That belief was endorsed by the nation's leaders in the past, the rabbi said, but he conceded that the nation is evolving.

Rising Societal Anger

The ultra-Orthodox population has more than doubled its proportion of Israel's population over the last seventy years, and now represents 14%. A policy that originated as an exemption for a small number of Torah scholars turned into, by the beginning of the 2023 war, a cohort of approximately 60,000 men exempt from the draft.

Surveys indicate support for ending the exemption is growing. A survey in July revealed that an overwhelming percentage of secular and traditional Jews - even a significant majority in the Prime Minister's political base - backed consequences for those who declined a draft order, with a solid consensus in supporting withdrawing benefits, passports, or the right to vote.

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

"In my view, however religious you are, [it] should be an justification not to perform service your state," said Gabby. "As a citizen by birth, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to avoid service just to study Torah all day."

Voices from the Heart of the Community

Backing for extending the draft is also coming from religious Jews beyond the ultra-Orthodox sector, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who is a neighbor of the seminary and highlights non-Haredi religious Jews who do perform national service while also studying Torah.

"I am frustrated that the Haredim don't serve in the army," she said. "This creates inequality. I too follow the Torah, but there's a teaching in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the scripture and the guns together. This is the correct approach, until the arrival of peace."

She manages a small memorial in Bnei Brak to soldiers from the area, both from all backgrounds, who were fallen in war. Rows of faces {