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An impending crisis over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military is jeopardizing the administration and dividing the nation.

Public opinion on the issue has changed profoundly in Israel after two years of conflict, and this is now perhaps the most explosive political challenge facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Battle

Politicians are reviewing a piece of legislation to abolish the deferment awarded to ultra-Orthodox men engaged in Torah study, created when the the nation was declared in 1948.

This arrangement was struck down by Israel's High Court of Justice almost 20 years ago. Temporary arrangements to extend it were officially terminated by the judiciary last year, compelling the cabinet to begin drafting the community.

Approximately 24,000 enlistment orders were sent out last year, but only around 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees showed up, according to army data given to lawmakers.

Tensions Spill Onto the Streets

Friction is spilling onto the city centers, with lawmakers now debating a new legislative proposal to force yeshiva students into army duty in the same way as other secular Israelis.

Two representatives were confronted this month by hardline activists, who are enraged with the legislative debate of the proposed law.

Recently, a special Border Police unit had to rescue Military Police officers who were surrounded by a sizeable mob of Haredi men as they tried to arrest a alleged conscription dodger.

These enforcement actions have sparked the creation of a new alert system called "Black Alert" to send out instant alerts through ultra-Orthodox communities and call out activists to stop detentions from happening.

"This is a Jewish state," stated an activist. "You can't fight against Judaism in a Jewish state. It is a contradiction."

An Environment Apart

Yet the shifts blowing through Israel have failed to penetrate the confines of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in an ultra-Orthodox city, an Haredi enclave on the edge of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, scholars learn in partnerships to analyze the Torah, their brightly coloured notepads popping against the rows of formal attire and traditional skullcaps.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see half the guys are studying Torah," the head of the seminary, a senior rabbi, said. "Via dedicated learning, we safeguard the troops wherever they are. This constitutes our service."

Haredi Jews maintain that continuous prayer and Torah learning guard Israel's soldiers, and are as essential to its defense as its conventional forces. This tenet was accepted by previous governments in the previous eras, he said, but he admitted that public attitudes are shifting.

Growing Public Pressure

The Haredi community has significantly increased its percentage of the nation's citizens over the last seventy years, and now represents a sizable minority. An exemption that started as an exception for several hundred Torah scholars turned into, by the beginning of the 2023 war, a cohort of tens of thousands of men exempt from the draft.

Opinion polls show backing for ending the exemption is growing. A survey in July found that 85% of the broader Jewish public - including a significant majority in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - supported penalties for those who ignored a draft order, with a solid consensus in supporting cutting state subsidies, passports, or the electoral participation.

"I feel there are individuals who are part of this country without contributing," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv said.

"I don't think, however religious you are, [it] should be an reason not to fulfill your duty to your country," added Gabby. "Being a native, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to avoid service just to study Torah all day."

Voices from the Heart of Bnei Brak

Backing for ending the exemption is also expressed by traditional Jews not part of the ultra-Orthodox sector, like Dorit Barak, who resides close to the yeshiva and notes religious Zionists who do serve in the military while also studying Torah.

"I am frustrated that the Haredim don't enlist," she said. "It's unfair. I also believe in the Torah, but there's a proverb in Hebrew - 'The Book and the Sword' – it means the scripture and the defense together. That is the path, until the arrival of peace."

The resident maintains a modest remembrance site in her city to local soldiers, both religious and secular, who were killed in battle. Rows of faces {