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An impending crisis over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military is jeopardizing the administration and splitting the country.

Popular sentiment on the issue has undergone a sea change in Israel after two years of war, and this is now perhaps the most volatile political challenge facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Battle

Politicians are now debating a proposal to abolish the special status granted to yeshiva scholars dedicated to Torah study, established when the the nation was declared in 1948.

This arrangement was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court in the early 2000s. Temporary arrangements to maintain it were officially terminated by the court last year, pressuring the government to start enlisting the Haredi sector.

Approximately 24,000 enlistment orders were issued last year, but only around 1,200 Haredi conscripts showed up, according to defense officials given to lawmakers.

Friction Erupt Onto the Streets

Tensions are erupting onto the streets, with lawmakers now discussing a new conscription law to require ultra-Orthodox men into army duty alongside other Israeli Jews.

Two representatives were harassed this month by radical elements, who are furious with the Knesset's deliberations of the proposed law.

Recently, a special Border Police unit had to assist army police who were targeted by a sizeable mob of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they tried to arrest a man avoiding service.

These arrests have led to the development of a new messaging system called "Emergency Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through ultra-Orthodox communities and call out demonstrators to block enforcement from taking place.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," stated Shmuel Orbach. "One cannot oppose the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It doesn't work."

A Realm Set Aside

However the changes sweeping across Israel have failed to penetrate the environment of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in a Haredi stronghold, an ultra-Orthodox city on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, teenage boys study together to debate Judaism's religious laws, their distinctive writing books contrasting with the seats of light-colored shirts and traditional skullcaps.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see many of the students are studying Torah," the dean of the yeshiva, 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 religious study protect Israel's military, and are as vital to its defense as its advanced weaponry. That belief was acknowledged by the nation's leaders in the past, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Growing Societal Anger

The Haredi community has significantly increased its share of the nation's citizens over the past seven decades, and now constitutes 14%. A policy that originated as an deferment for several hundred yeshiva attendees became, by the start of the 2023 war, a cohort of approximately 60,000 men not subject to the draft.

Polling data suggest backing for drafting the Haredim is increasing. Research in July revealed that an overwhelming percentage of secular and traditional Jews - encompassing a large segment in the Prime Minister's political base - backed consequences for those who declined a enlistment summons, with a firm majority in approving cutting state subsidies, travel documents, or the franchise.

"It seems to me there are citizens who live in this nation without contributing," one serviceman in Tel Aviv explained.

"I don't think, no matter how devout, [it] should be an reason not to go and serve your country," stated a Tel Aviv resident. "As a citizen by birth, I find it rather absurd that you want to opt out just to engage in religious study all day."

Perspectives from the Heart of Bnei Brak

Advocacy of extending the draft is also expressed by religious Jews outside the ultra-Orthodox sector, like Dorit Barak, who is a neighbor of the academy and notes non-Haredi religious Jews who do perform national service while also engaging in religious study.

"I'm very angry that the Haredim don't perform military service," she said. "It is unjust. I also believe in the Jewish law, but there's a teaching in Hebrew - 'The Book and the Sword' – it represents the scripture and the defense together. That's the way forward, until the days of peace."

The resident maintains a modest remembrance site in her city to fallen servicemen, both from all backgrounds, who were killed in battle. Lines of images {