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A looming political storm over conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military is threatening to undermine Israel's government and fracturing the nation.

The public mood on the matter has shifted dramatically in Israel in the wake of two years of conflict, and this is now perhaps the most volatile political challenge facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Judicial Battle

Politicians are now debating a proposal to abolish the exemption awarded to Haredi students dedicated to yeshiva learning, established when the the nation was founded in 1948.

That exemption was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court almost 20 years ago. Stopgap solutions to continue it were finally concluded by the judiciary last year, forcing the cabinet to commence conscription of the ultra-Orthodox population.

Approximately 24,000 call-up papers were issued last year, but just approximately 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees enlisted, according to army data given to lawmakers.

Friction Spill Into Public View

Tensions are erupting onto the public squares, with parliamentarians now deliberating a new conscription law to force ultra-Orthodox men into national service together with other Jewish citizens.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were targeted this month by hardline activists, who are furious with the Knesset's deliberations of the proposed law.

Recently, a elite police squad had to rescue enforcement personnel who were attacked by a big group of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they tried to arrest a suspected draft-evader.

These arrests have led to the development of a new messaging system dubbed "Dark Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and mobilize activists to prevent arrests from happening.

"This is a Jewish state," stated an activist. "One cannot oppose Judaism in a Jewish country. It is a contradiction."

An Environment Separate

Yet the transformations affecting Israel have not yet breached the confines of the religious seminary in an ultra-Orthodox city, an Haredi enclave on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, teenage boys study together to discuss Jewish law, their vividly colored writing books standing out against the lines of light-colored shirts and head coverings.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see many of the students are pursuing religious study," the leader of the seminary, the spiritual guide, noted. "Through religious study, we shield the troops wherever they are. This constitutes our service."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that continuous prayer and Torah learning guard Israel's military, and are as crucial to its defense as its advanced weaponry. This tenet was accepted by previous governments in the previous eras, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he admitted that public attitudes are shifting.

Increasing Societal Anger

The Haredi community has more than doubled its proportion of the nation's citizens over the past seven decades, and now constitutes a sizable minority. What began as an exception for several hundred religious students evolved into, by the beginning of the 2023 war, a cohort of tens of thousands of men exempt from the draft.

Polling data show approval of ending the exemption is growing. Research in July revealed that a large majority of secular and traditional Jews - including almost three-quarters in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - supported sanctions for those who ignored a enlistment summons, with a firm majority in approving withdrawing benefits, the right to travel, or the right to vote.

"It seems to me there are citizens who live in this nation without contributing," one military member in Tel Aviv explained.

"I don't think, no matter how devout, [it] should be an reason not to fulfill your duty to your nation," stated Gabby. "If you're born here, I find it rather absurd that you want to opt out just to study Torah all day."

Voices from Within the Community

Backing for broadening conscription is also coming from religious Jews beyond the Haredi community, like Dorit Barak, who is a neighbor of the yeshiva and highlights observant but non-Haredi Jews who do perform national service while also engaging in religious study.

"I am frustrated that ultra-Orthodox people don't perform military service," she said. "It's unfair. I too follow the Torah, but there's a saying in Jewish tradition - 'The Book and the Sword' – it means the Torah and the weapons together. That is the path, until the arrival of peace."

She runs a small memorial in her city to local soldiers, both from all backgrounds, who were fallen in war. Long columns of images {