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A looming political storm over enlisting Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces is jeopardizing the governing coalition and dividing the state.

The public mood on the issue has shifted dramatically in Israel in the wake of two years of conflict, and this is now possibly the most divisive political challenge facing the Prime Minister.

The Judicial Struggle

Politicians are currently considering a piece of legislation to end the exemption given to yeshiva scholars dedicated to full-time religious study, created when the modern Israel was declared in 1948.

The deferment was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court almost 20 years ago. Interim measures to maintain it were finally concluded by the bench last year, forcing the government to commence conscription of the community.

Approximately 24,000 draft notices were issued last year, but only around 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees reported for duty, according to defense officials given to lawmakers.

Strains Spill Onto the Streets

Strains are boiling over onto the streets, with parliamentarians now discussing a new conscription law to force ultra-Orthodox men into military service together with other secular Israelis.

Two representatives were harassed this month by hardline activists, who are enraged with the legislative debate of the draft legislation.

And last week, a special Border Police unit had to extract Military Police officers who were attacked by a large crowd of Haredi men as they attempted to detain a man avoiding service.

These enforcement actions have led to the development of a new communication network called "Dark Alert" to spread word quickly through ultra-Orthodox communities and summon demonstrators to stop detentions from taking place.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," said an activist. "One cannot oppose the Jewish faith in a Jewish country. It doesn't work."

A World Apart

But the transformations blowing through Israel have not yet breached the confines of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in a Haredi stronghold, an Haredi enclave on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, young students study together to analyze Judaism's religious laws, their brightly coloured notepads contrasting with the seats of white shirts and head coverings.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see a significant portion are engaged in learning," the leader of the academy, the spiritual guide, explained. "By studying Torah, we protect the troops wherever they are. This is how we contribute."

Haredi Jews maintain that constant study and Torah learning guard Israel's soldiers, and are as crucial to its security as its conventional forces. This tenet was endorsed by Israel's politicians in the past, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he acknowledged that Israel was changing.

Rising Public Pressure

This religious sector has significantly increased its percentage of the country's people over the past seven decades, and now constitutes around one in seven. An exemption that started as an exemption for several hundred yeshiva attendees became, by the beginning of the 2023 war, a cohort of approximately 60,000 men left out of the national service.

Opinion polls show support for ending the exemption is rising. A survey in July revealed that a large majority of non-Haredi Jews - even almost three-quarters in the Prime Minister's political base - backed sanctions for those who declined a call-up notice, with a firm majority in favor of removing privileges, the right to travel, or the electoral participation.

"It seems to me there are individuals who are part of this nation without contributing," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv commented.

"In my view, no matter how devout, [it] should be an reason not to fulfill your duty to your country," added a Tel Aviv resident. "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

Advocacy of ending the exemption is also expressed by religious Jews beyond the ultra-Orthodox sector, like Dorit Barak, who lives near the yeshiva and points to observant but non-Haredi Jews who do perform national service while also engaging in religious study.

"I'm very angry that this community don't enlist," she said. "It is unjust. I am also committed to the Torah, but there's a teaching in Jewish tradition - 'The Book and the Sword' – it means the scripture and the guns together. That is the path, until the arrival of peace."

The resident runs a modest remembrance site in the neighborhood to local soldiers, both observant and non-observant, who were lost in conflict. Rows of photographs {