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A gathering political storm over conscripting Haredi men into the Israeli army is posing a risk to the governing coalition and dividing the nation.

Popular sentiment on the matter has undergone a sea change in Israel in the wake of two years of conflict, and this is now arguably the most divisive political challenge facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Judicial Battle

Politicians are reviewing a proposal to abolish the exemption awarded to ultra-Orthodox men dedicated to full-time religious study, established when the the nation was established in 1948.

This arrangement was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court in the early 2000s. Stopgap solutions to continue it were finally concluded by the bench last year, compelling the cabinet to commence conscription of the ultra-Orthodox population.

Roughly 24,000 call-up papers were sent out last year, but just approximately 1,200 Haredi conscripts reported for duty, according to military testimony shared with lawmakers.

Strains Boil Over Into Public View

Strains are boiling over onto the public squares, with lawmakers now discussing a new conscription law to require ultra-Orthodox men into army duty together with other Israeli Jews.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were targeted this month by hardline activists, who are enraged with the legislative debate of the bill.

Recently, a elite police squad had to extract Military Police officers who were surrounded by a sizeable mob of community members as they tried to arrest a suspected draft-evader.

Such incidents have prompted the establishment of a new alert system called "Dark Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through Haredi neighborhoods and summon protesters to prevent arrests from happening.

"We're a Jewish country," said Shmuel Orbach. "You can't fight against the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It doesn't work."

An Environment Apart

Yet the transformations affecting Israel have not reached the confines of the Torah academy in an ultra-Orthodox city, an Haredi enclave on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, teenage boys study together to analyze the Torah, their brightly coloured notepads contrasting with the lines of light-colored shirts and head coverings.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see half the guys are engaged in learning," the head of the academy, Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, explained. "By studying Torah, we safeguard the soldiers in the field. This is our army."

The community holds that constant study and spiritual pursuit defend Israel's military, and are as essential to its military success as its tanks and air force. This conviction was acknowledged by Israel's politicians in the past, the rabbi said, but he conceded that public attitudes are shifting.

Rising Public Pressure

This religious sector has significantly increased its share of the country's people over the last seventy years, and now constitutes around one in seven. An exemption that started as an exception for a few hundred religious students evolved into, by the start of the 2023 war, a cohort of approximately 60,000 men exempt from the draft.

Polling data indicate approval of ultra-Orthodox conscription is growing. Research in July revealed that 85% of the broader Jewish public - encompassing a large segment in the Prime Minister's political base - favored penalties for those who declined a draft order, with a clear majority in supporting removing privileges, the right to travel, or the electoral participation.

"It seems to me there are people who reside in this country without giving anything back," one military member in Tel Aviv said.

"It is my belief, no matter how devout, [it] should be an reason not to perform service your state," said Gabby. "Being a native, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to opt out just to engage in religious study all day."

Perspectives from Inside the Community

Advocacy of extending the draft is also expressed by religious Jews outside the Haredi community, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who is a neighbor of the yeshiva and highlights observant but non-Haredi Jews who do enlist in the army while also maintaining their faith.

"I am frustrated that this community don't perform military service," she said. "This creates inequality. I am also committed to 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 messianic era."

She manages a small memorial in her city to soldiers from the area, both religious and secular, who were fallen in war. Rows of faces {