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A looming political storm over conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israel Defense Forces is threatening to undermine the administration and dividing the country.

The public mood on the issue has shifted dramatically in Israel in the wake of two years of hostilities, and this is now perhaps the most divisive political issue facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Legal Conflict

Politicians are reviewing a draft bill to end the deferment awarded to ultra-Orthodox men enrolled in Torah study, established when the the nation was declared in 1948.

That exemption was struck down by Israel's High Court of Justice two decades ago. Interim measures to maintain it were finally concluded by the court last year, pressuring the government to start enlisting the community.

Some 24,000 draft notices were sent out last year, but only around 1,200 men from the community showed up, according to army data shared with lawmakers.

Strains Boil Over Into Violence

Strains are boiling over onto the public squares, with elected officials now discussing a new conscription law to force yeshiva students into military service in the same way as other Israeli Jews.

Two representatives were harassed this month by radical elements, who are enraged with parliament's discussion of the proposed law.

And last week, a special Border Police unit had to rescue Military Police officers who were attacked by a sizeable mob of community members as they attempted to detain a man avoiding service.

These enforcement actions have sparked the creation of a new messaging system named "Black Alert" to spread word quickly through Haredi neighborhoods and mobilize activists to block enforcement from happening.

"We're a Jewish country," said an activist. "It's impossible to battle the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. That is untenable."

An Environment Set Aside

Yet the transformations sweeping across Israel have not yet breached the confines of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox city on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, young students study together to discuss Judaism's religious laws, their brightly coloured notepads standing out against the rows of formal attire and head coverings.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see many of the students are pursuing religious study," the leader of the academy, the spiritual guide, noted. "Via dedicated learning, we shield the troops in the field. This is how we contribute."

Haredi Jews maintain that constant study and Torah learning defend Israel's armed forces, and are as vital to its security as its conventional forces. This tenet was acknowledged by Israel's politicians in the earlier decades, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Growing Societal Anger

This religious sector has significantly increased its share of the country's people over the since the state's founding, and now represents a sizable minority. An exemption that started as an exemption for several hundred religious students evolved into, by the onset of the recent conflict, a group of approximately 60,000 men left out of the draft.

Opinion polls show backing for ending the exemption is growing. Research in July revealed that 85% of non-Haredi Jews - encompassing a large segment in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - favored sanctions for those who refused a call-up notice, with a firm majority in favor of removing privileges, the right to travel, or the franchise.

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

"It is my belief, no matter how devout, [it] should be an justification not to go and serve your nation," stated Gabby. "If you're born here, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to opt out just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Voices from Within the Community

Support for broadening conscription is also found among religious Jews beyond the Haredi community, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who is a neighbor of the seminary and notes non-Haredi religious Jews who do perform national service while also studying Torah.

"I'm very angry that ultra-Orthodox people don't enlist," she said. "It is unjust. I also believe in the Jewish law, but there's a saying in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it means the scripture and the guns together. That is the path, until the days of peace."

The resident runs a small memorial in the neighborhood to fallen servicemen, both observant and non-observant, who were killed in battle. Rows of faces {