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A looming political storm over enlisting Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces is posing a risk to Israel's government and splitting the state.

Popular sentiment on the question has undergone a sea change in Israel following two years of war, and this is now arguably the most volatile political challenge facing the Prime Minister.

The Legal Struggle

Lawmakers are now debating a proposal to end the deferment granted to ultra-Orthodox men dedicated to full-time religious study, created when the modern Israel was declared in 1948.

That exemption was struck down by the Supreme Court almost 20 years ago. Stopgap solutions to maintain it were officially terminated by the bench last year, forcing the administration to commence conscription of the Haredi sector.

Approximately 24,000 draft notices were sent out last year, but only around 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees showed up, according to defense officials shared with lawmakers.

Friction Erupt Onto the Streets

Friction is spilling onto the city centers, with parliamentarians now debating a new draft bill to require yeshiva students into army duty together with other secular Israelis.

Two representatives were confronted this month by radical elements, who are furious with the Knesset's deliberations of the bill.

And last week, a elite police squad had to rescue enforcement personnel who were surrounded by a large crowd of Haredi men as they attempted to detain a alleged conscription dodger.

Such incidents have led to the development of a new communication network called "Emergency Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through ultra-Orthodox communities and call out demonstrators to stop detentions from taking place.

"This is a Jewish state," said one protester. "It's impossible to battle Judaism in a Jewish country. It doesn't work."

A World Apart

But the changes sweeping across Israel have not reached the walls of the Torah academy in a Haredi stronghold, an ultra-Orthodox city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, young students sit in pairs to discuss Jewish law, their distinctive writing books contrasting with the seats of light-colored shirts and head coverings.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see a significant portion are engaged in learning," the dean of the yeshiva, the spiritual guide, said. "Via dedicated learning, we safeguard the military personnel wherever they are. This is how we contribute."

Haredi Jews maintain that continuous prayer and religious study defend Israel's soldiers, and are as crucial to its security as its conventional forces. That belief was endorsed by previous governments in the previous eras, the rabbi said, but he admitted that public attitudes are shifting.

Rising Popular Demand

The ultra-Orthodox population has grown substantially its percentage of the country's people over the past seven decades, and now represents around one in seven. What began as an exemption for a small number of Torah scholars became, by the beginning of the 2023 war, a cohort of some 60,000 men not subject to the draft.

Surveys show approval of ending the exemption is increasing. Research in July revealed that a large majority of non-Haredi Jews - even a significant majority in his own coalition allies - supported sanctions for those who refused a enlistment summons, with a firm majority in approving removing privileges, passports, or the franchise.

"I feel there are individuals who are part of this nation without giving anything back," one military member in Tel Aviv commented.

"I don't think, no matter how devout, [it] should be an excuse not to perform service your state," said Gabby. "Being a native, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to exempt yourself just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Voices from Within the Community

Advocacy of broadening conscription is also expressed by traditional Jews outside the Haredi community, like one local resident, who resides close to the academy and highlights non-Haredi religious Jews who do serve in the military while also engaging in religious study.

"I'm very angry that the Haredim don't enlist," she said. "It is unjust. I also believe in the Torah, but there's a proverb in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the scripture and the guns together. That's the way forward, until the messianic era."

Ms Barak maintains a local tribute in Bnei Brak to soldiers from the area, both observant and non-observant, who were lost in conflict. Rows of faces {