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An impending political storm over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli army is threatening to undermine Israel's government and fracturing the country.

Popular sentiment on the question has shifted dramatically in Israel after two years of hostilities, and this is now arguably the most divisive political risk facing the Prime Minister.

The Judicial Battle

Politicians are currently considering a proposal to terminate the exemption granted to yeshiva scholars engaged in Torah study, created when the modern Israel was established in 1948.

This arrangement was struck down by the Supreme Court almost 20 years ago. Interim measures to extend it were formally ended by the judiciary last year, pressuring the government to start enlisting the community.

Some 24,000 draft notices were delivered last year, but merely about 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees reported for duty, according to army data presented to lawmakers.

Strains Erupt Onto the Streets

Tensions are erupting onto the city centers, with elected officials now discussing a new conscription law to force Haredi males into army duty alongside other Israeli Jews.

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

In a recent incident, a special Border Police unit had to extract enforcement personnel who were surrounded by a sizeable mob of Haredi men as they attempted to detain a man avoiding service.

These arrests have sparked the creation of a new communication network called "Dark Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and mobilize activists to prevent arrests from happening.

"We're a Jewish country," remarked Shmuel Orbach. "You can't fight against religious practice in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It is a contradiction."

A Realm Set Aside

But the transformations affecting Israel have not yet breached the confines of the Torah academy in a Haredi stronghold, an ultra-Orthodox city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, teenage boys study together to debate Judaism's religious laws, their vividly colored writing books popping against the lines of light-colored shirts and traditional skullcaps.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see many of the students are engaged in learning," the leader of the academy, a senior rabbi, explained. "By studying Torah, we shield the soldiers on the front lines. This is our army."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that continuous prayer and spiritual pursuit protect Israel's military, and are as essential to its defense as its conventional forces. This conviction was endorsed by Israel's politicians in the earlier decades, he said, but he acknowledged that the nation is evolving.

Increasing Popular Demand

The ultra-Orthodox population has more than doubled its proportion of Israel's population over the last seventy years, and now represents around one in seven. What began as an exemption for a few hundred Torah scholars evolved into, by the onset of the 2023 war, a body of tens of thousands of men left out of the conscription.

Polling data suggest support for drafting the Haredim is growing. A poll in July showed that a large majority of non-Haredi Jews - encompassing a significant majority in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - supported consequences for those who declined a draft order, with a solid consensus in favor of cutting state subsidies, travel documents, or the electoral participation.

"It makes me feel there are citizens who are part of this nation without contributing," one military member in Tel Aviv commented.

"In my view, no matter how devout, [it] should be an excuse not to fulfill your duty to your country," said a young woman. "If you're born here, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to avoid service just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Perspectives from Within the Community

Support for ending the exemption is also expressed by traditional Jews beyond the ultra-Orthodox sector, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the seminary and highlights religious Zionists who do serve in the military while also studying Torah.

"I'm very angry that the Haredim don't serve in the army," she said. "It's unfair. I too follow the Jewish law, but there's a saying in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it means the Torah and the weapons together. This is the correct approach, until the messianic era."

Ms Barak runs a modest remembrance site in her city to soldiers from the area, both religious and secular, who were killed in battle. Rows of photographs {