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A looming crisis over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli army is threatening to undermine the governing coalition and splitting the country.

Public opinion on the question has shifted dramatically in Israel following two years of war, and this is now possibly the most explosive political challenge facing the Prime Minister.

The Legal Battle

Legislators are reviewing a piece of legislation to terminate the deferment given to ultra-Orthodox men engaged in yeshiva learning, instituted when the the nation was founded in 1948.

That exemption was ruled illegal by the nation's top court two decades ago. Temporary arrangements to extend it were formally ended by the bench last year, forcing the cabinet to begin drafting the ultra-Orthodox population.

Some 24,000 draft notices were sent out last year, but only around 1,200 men from the community enlisted, according to defense officials shared with lawmakers.

Friction Erupt Onto the Streets

Tensions are erupting onto the streets, with parliamentarians now discussing a new legislative proposal to compel Haredi males into army duty in the same way as other Jewish citizens.

Two representatives were confronted this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are enraged with the Knesset's deliberations of the proposed law.

And last week, a specialized force had to extract army police who were surrounded by a sizeable mob of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they tried to arrest a man avoiding service.

Such incidents have prompted the establishment of a new alert system named "Emergency Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through ultra-Orthodox communities and summon activists to block enforcement from happening.

"We're a Jewish country," remarked one protester. "One cannot oppose religious practice in a Jewish state. It is a contradiction."

A Realm Set Aside

But the changes affecting Israel have not reached the walls of the religious seminary in Bnei Brak, an religious community on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, scholars study together to discuss the Torah, their brightly coloured notepads standing out against the lines of formal attire and head coverings.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see many of the students are pursuing religious study," the head of the seminary, a senior rabbi, explained. "By studying Torah, we protect the military personnel wherever they are. This constitutes our service."

Haredi Jews maintain that unceasing devotion and religious study guard Israel's soldiers, and are as essential to its defense as its tanks and air force. This conviction was endorsed by previous governments in the earlier decades, the rabbi said, but he conceded that public attitudes are shifting.

Growing Public Pressure

The ultra-Orthodox population has grown substantially its percentage of Israel's population over the since the state's founding, and now represents a sizable minority. A policy that originated as an exception for a small number of religious students turned into, by the beginning of the 2023 war, a group of tens of thousands of men not subject to the national service.

Surveys show backing for ending the exemption is rising. A survey in July showed that a large majority of secular and traditional Jews - even almost three-quarters in the Prime Minister's political base - favored consequences for those who declined a draft order, with a clear majority in supporting withdrawing benefits, the right to travel, or the electoral participation.

"I feel there are people who live in this nation without contributing," one military member in Tel Aviv explained.

"I don't think, regardless of piety, [it] should be an excuse not to fulfill your duty to your nation," stated Gabby. "Being a native, I find it rather absurd that you want to avoid service just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Views from the Heart of a Religious City

Support for broadening conscription is also coming from observant Jews outside the ultra-Orthodox sector, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the academy and notes non-Haredi religious Jews who do serve in the military while also studying Torah.

"It makes me angry that this community don't enlist," she said. "It is unjust. I too follow the Torah, but there's a teaching in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it means the Torah and the defense together. That is the path, until the arrival of peace."

The resident manages a small memorial in her city to fallen servicemen, both religious and secular, who were killed in battle. Lines of images {