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An impending political storm over conscripting Haredi men into the Israeli army is posing a risk to the administration and fracturing the country.

Popular sentiment on the issue has changed profoundly in Israel after two years of war, and this is now arguably the most volatile political challenge facing the Prime Minister.

The Constitutional Conflict

Lawmakers are now debating a draft bill to end the exemption given to ultra-Orthodox men enrolled in full-time religious study, established when the State of Israel was founded in 1948.

The deferment was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the early 2000s. Stopgap solutions to extend it were formally ended by the court last year, compelling the cabinet to commence conscription of the community.

Approximately 24,000 draft notices were delivered last year, but just approximately 1,200 men from the community showed up, according to defense officials given to lawmakers.

Friction Erupt Onto the Streets

Strains are boiling over onto the city centers, with parliamentarians now deliberating a new draft bill to force ultra-Orthodox men into army duty in the same way as other Jewish citizens.

Two Haredi politicians were confronted this month by radical elements, who are incensed with the Knesset's deliberations of the proposed law.

And last week, a elite police squad had to assist Military Police officers who were targeted by a big group of community members as they sought to apprehend a alleged conscription dodger.

Such incidents have sparked the creation of a new communication network called "Dark Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through ultra-Orthodox communities and mobilize activists to prevent arrests from taking place.

"We're a Jewish country," said an activist. "You can't fight against Judaism in a Jewish country. It is a contradiction."

An Environment Separate

But the transformations sweeping across Israel have not yet breached the walls of the religious seminary in a Haredi stronghold, an religious community on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, young students learn in partnerships to debate Judaism's religious laws, their vividly colored writing books standing out against the lines of white shirts and small black kippahs.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see a significant portion are pursuing religious study," the dean of the academy, a senior rabbi, explained. "By studying Torah, we shield the troops on the front lines. This constitutes our service."

Haredi Jews maintain that unceasing devotion and spiritual pursuit defend Israel's soldiers, and are as vital to its defense as its tanks and air force. This tenet was acknowledged by the nation's leaders in the earlier decades, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he acknowledged that Israel was changing.

Increasing Popular Demand

The Haredi community has grown substantially its proportion of the country's people over the past seven decades, and now represents 14%. What began as an deferment for a small number of Torah scholars became, by the start of the 2023 war, a body of tens of thousands of men left out of the national service.

Surveys indicate backing for ultra-Orthodox conscription is increasing. Research in July found that a large majority of non-Haredi Jews - including almost three-quarters in the Prime Minister's political base - favored consequences for those who declined a call-up notice, with a firm majority in favor of cutting state subsidies, passports, or the right to vote.

"It seems to me there are people who live in this country without giving anything back," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv commented.

"In my view, however religious you are, [it] should be an excuse not to fulfill your duty to your state," added Gabby. "Being a native, I find it rather absurd that you want to opt out just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Perspectives from the Heart of the Community

Backing for ending the exemption is also expressed by traditional Jews outside the ultra-Orthodox sector, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the seminary and highlights religious Zionists who do perform national service while also maintaining their faith.

"It makes me angry that the Haredim don't serve in the army," she said. "It is unjust. I also believe in the Torah, but there's a teaching in Jewish tradition - 'The Book and the Sword' – it means the Torah and the weapons together. That's the way forward, until the days of peace."

Ms Barak maintains a small memorial in her city to fallen servicemen, both religious and secular, who were lost in conflict. Rows of photographs {