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A looming political storm over conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military is posing a risk to Israel's government and splitting the state.

The public mood on the matter has shifted dramatically in Israel after two years of war, and this is now perhaps the most explosive political risk facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Conflict

Politicians are currently considering a draft bill to end the special status given to yeshiva scholars engaged in full-time religious study, established when the the nation was declared in 1948.

This arrangement was declared unconstitutional by Israel's High Court of Justice two decades ago. Temporary arrangements to extend it were finally concluded by the bench last year, forcing the government to commence conscription of the community.

Roughly 24,000 enlistment orders were delivered last year, but only around 1,200 men from the community reported for duty, according to army data presented to lawmakers.

Friction Erupt Into Violence

Friction is spilling onto the city centers, with lawmakers now discussing a new draft bill to compel Haredi males into national service alongside other Jewish citizens.

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

And last week, a special Border Police unit had to assist army police who were attacked by a sizeable mob of community members as they tried to arrest a alleged conscription dodger.

These enforcement actions have prompted the establishment of a new alert system called "Black Alert" to send out instant alerts through ultra-Orthodox communities and call out demonstrators to stop detentions from taking place.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," said an activist. "You can't fight against religious practice in a Jewish country. It doesn't work."

A Realm Apart

Yet the transformations sweeping across Israel have failed to penetrate the confines of the Torah academy in Bnei Brak, an Haredi enclave on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, scholars study together to debate Jewish law, their vividly colored writing books contrasting with the rows of white shirts and small black kippahs.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see many of the students are studying Torah," the dean of the yeshiva, the spiritual guide, said. "Via dedicated learning, we protect the troops wherever they are. This is how we contribute."

The community holds that continuous prayer and spiritual pursuit protect Israel's armed forces, and are as crucial to its defense as its advanced weaponry. This tenet was accepted by Israel's politicians in the past, he said, but he acknowledged that the nation is evolving.

Rising Societal Anger

The Haredi community has grown substantially its proportion of the country's people over the last seventy years, and now represents around one in seven. An exemption that started as an exemption for several hundred yeshiva attendees became, by the start of the 2023 war, a cohort of tens of thousands of men left out of the conscription.

Polling data suggest support for ultra-Orthodox conscription is rising. Research in July revealed that 85% of non-Haredi Jews - even a significant majority in the Prime Minister's political base - favored penalties for those who refused a enlistment summons, with a firm majority in supporting removing privileges, travel documents, or the electoral participation.

"It makes me feel there are citizens who are part of this country without serving," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv said.

"It is my belief, no matter how devout, [it] should be an excuse not to fulfill your duty to your country," added a Tel Aviv resident. "As a citizen by birth, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to avoid service just to engage in religious study all day."

Voices from Within a Religious City

Support for broadening conscription is also expressed by observant Jews outside the Haredi community, like one local resident, who lives near the yeshiva and notes religious Zionists who do perform national service while also engaging in religious study.

"I am frustrated that ultra-Orthodox people don't serve in the army," she said. "It's unfair. I also believe in the Jewish law, but there's a teaching in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it means the Torah and the weapons together. That's the way forward, until the arrival of peace."

The resident manages a small memorial in Bnei Brak to local soldiers, both religious and secular, who were lost in conflict. Lines of images {