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An impending crisis over drafting Haredi men into the military is posing a risk to Israel's government and dividing the nation.

The public mood on the issue has changed profoundly in Israel in the wake of two years of war, and this is now perhaps the most volatile political issue facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Conflict

Politicians are currently considering a piece of legislation to end the exemption granted to yeshiva scholars dedicated to full-time religious study, established when the the nation was established in 1948.

This arrangement was declared unconstitutional by the nation's top court two decades ago. Temporary arrangements to extend it were officially terminated by the court last year, compelling the cabinet to begin drafting the ultra-Orthodox population.

Some 24,000 call-up papers were issued last year, but only around 1,200 Haredi conscripts reported for duty, according to military testimony shared with lawmakers.

Friction Erupt Onto the Streets

Tensions are erupting onto the city centers, with parliamentarians now debating a new draft bill to require ultra-Orthodox men into national service in the same way as other Jewish citizens.

Two Haredi politicians were targeted this month by hardline activists, who are enraged with the Knesset's deliberations of the proposed law.

And last week, a specialized force had to assist enforcement personnel who were surrounded by a big group of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they tried to arrest a suspected draft-evader.

These enforcement actions have sparked the creation of a new alert system named "Black Alert" to spread word quickly through Haredi neighborhoods and call out activists to stop detentions from taking place.

"We're a Jewish country," said one protester. "One cannot oppose the Jewish faith in a Jewish state. It is a contradiction."

A World Separate

However the changes affecting Israel have not yet breached the environment of the religious seminary in an ultra-Orthodox city, an ultra-Orthodox city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, young students learn in partnerships to discuss Jewish law, their vividly colored notepads standing out against the rows of light-colored shirts and traditional skullcaps.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see half the guys are pursuing religious study," the leader of the seminary, Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, noted. "Via dedicated learning, we safeguard the soldiers in the field. This is our army."

The community holds that constant study and Torah learning defend Israel's armed forces, and are as crucial to its security as its tanks and air force. This conviction was acknowledged by previous governments in the earlier decades, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Increasing Societal Anger

The ultra-Orthodox population has grown substantially its proportion of Israel's population over the past seven decades, and now constitutes 14%. An exemption that started as an exemption for a few hundred religious students turned into, by the start of the 2023 war, a body of approximately 60,000 men not subject to the draft.

Opinion polls indicate backing for drafting the Haredim is rising. A survey in July showed that 85% of non-Haredi Jews - encompassing a large segment in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - favored consequences for those who ignored a draft order, with a clear majority in favor of withdrawing benefits, travel documents, or the electoral participation.

"It makes me feel there are citizens who live in this nation without contributing," one serviceman in Tel Aviv said.

"I don't think, no matter how devout, [it] should be an excuse not to perform service your nation," added a young woman. "Being a native, I find it rather absurd that you want to avoid service just to study Torah all day."

Voices from the Heart of the Community

Backing for ending the exemption is also expressed by religious Jews outside the ultra-Orthodox sector, like Dorit Barak, who lives near the yeshiva and highlights non-Haredi religious Jews who do serve in the military while also engaging in religious study.

"I am frustrated that ultra-Orthodox people don't serve in the army," she said. "This creates inequality. I also believe in the Jewish law, but there's a saying in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the scripture and the guns together. This is the correct approach, until the arrival of peace."

Ms Barak manages a small memorial in the neighborhood to local soldiers, both religious and secular, who were lost in conflict. Lines of photographs {