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A looming political storm over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israel Defense Forces is threatening to undermine the governing coalition and fracturing the nation.

Popular sentiment on the matter has changed profoundly in Israel following two years of conflict, and this is now possibly the most volatile political issue facing the Prime Minister.

The Legal Conflict

Legislators are currently considering a proposal to abolish the exemption awarded to yeshiva scholars enrolled in yeshiva learning, established when the State of Israel was declared in 1948.

That exemption was struck down by the nation's top court two decades ago. Interim measures to continue it were finally concluded by the judiciary last year, compelling the government to commence conscription of the Haredi sector.

Roughly 24,000 call-up papers were sent out last year, but merely about 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees enlisted, according to defense officials presented to lawmakers.

Tensions Erupt Into Public View

Friction is spilling onto the public squares, with lawmakers now deliberating a new draft bill to compel ultra-Orthodox men into military service in the same way as other Israeli Jews.

Two Haredi politicians were harassed this month by radical elements, who are incensed with the legislative debate of the proposed law.

In a recent incident, a specialized force had to extract Military Police officers who were surrounded by a big group of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they tried to arrest a alleged conscription dodger.

Such incidents have prompted the establishment of a new communication network called "Emergency Alert" to spread word quickly through ultra-Orthodox communities and summon protesters to prevent arrests from happening.

"This is a Jewish state," stated one protester. "You can't fight against Judaism in a Jewish state. It doesn't work."

An Environment Apart

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

In the learning space, teenage boys learn in partnerships to discuss the Torah, their brightly coloured notepads popping against the seats of light-colored shirts and traditional skullcaps.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see many of the students are engaged in learning," the leader of the academy, the spiritual guide, noted. "By studying Torah, we safeguard the soldiers wherever they are. This is how we contribute."

Haredi Jews maintain that unceasing devotion and spiritual pursuit defend Israel's military, and are as vital to its military success as its tanks and air force. That belief was acknowledged by the nation's leaders in the past, he said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Growing Public Pressure

The Haredi community has more than doubled its percentage of Israel's population over the last seventy years, and now accounts for 14%. An exemption that started as an deferment for a small number of yeshiva attendees evolved into, by the onset of the Gaza war, a cohort of some 60,000 men exempt from the national service.

Polling data suggest support for ending the exemption is increasing. A survey in July found that an overwhelming percentage of the broader Jewish public - encompassing a large segment in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - favored sanctions for those who refused a enlistment summons, with a firm majority in favor of cutting state subsidies, passports, or the franchise.

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

"I don't think, no matter how devout, [it] should be an justification not to fulfill your duty to your nation," stated a Tel Aviv resident. "As a citizen by birth, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to exempt yourself just to study Torah all day."

Views from Within a Religious City

Backing for extending the draft is also expressed by religious Jews outside the Haredi community, like Dorit Barak, who is a neighbor of the yeshiva and highlights religious Zionists who do enlist in the army while also engaging in religious study.

"I am frustrated that ultra-Orthodox people don't perform military service," she said. "This creates inequality. I also believe in the Torah, but there's a teaching in Hebrew - 'The Book and the Sword' – it signifies the Torah and the defense together. That's the way forward, until the messianic era."

She manages a modest remembrance site in her city to soldiers from the area, both observant and non-observant, who were fallen in war. Lines of photographs {