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A looming political storm over enlisting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military is posing a risk to Israel's government and dividing the nation.

Public opinion on the matter has changed profoundly in Israel following two years of conflict, and this is now arguably the most volatile political risk facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Judicial Conflict

Lawmakers are reviewing a piece of legislation to end the exemption granted to yeshiva scholars engaged in yeshiva learning, created when the the nation was founded in 1948.

This arrangement was ruled illegal by the nation's top court two decades ago. Stopgap solutions to extend it were formally ended by the judiciary last year, compelling the administration to commence conscription of the ultra-Orthodox population.

Some 24,000 call-up papers were sent out last year, but just approximately 1,200 Haredi conscripts enlisted, according to defense officials given to lawmakers.

Strains Spill Into Public View

Strains are boiling over onto the public squares, with parliamentarians now debating a new legislative proposal to compel ultra-Orthodox men into military service alongside other Israeli Jews.

Two representatives were targeted this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are furious with parliament's discussion of the proposed law.

Recently, a special Border Police unit had to rescue army police who were surrounded by a sizeable mob of community members as they attempted to detain a alleged conscription dodger.

These arrests have sparked the creation of a new communication network called "Dark Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through ultra-Orthodox communities and call out demonstrators to stop detentions from taking place.

"We're a Jewish country," stated Shmuel Orbach. "One cannot oppose religious practice in a Jewish country. It is a contradiction."

A Realm Apart

But the shifts sweeping across Israel have not yet breached the confines of the religious seminary in Bnei Brak, an religious community on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, young students study together to analyze Judaism's religious laws, their vividly colored notepads standing out against the seats of white shirts and small black kippahs.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see many of the students are studying Torah," the leader of the academy, Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, said. "Through religious study, we protect the military personnel wherever they are. This is how we contribute."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that unceasing devotion and spiritual pursuit guard Israel's armed forces, and are as essential to its military success as its advanced weaponry. This tenet was endorsed by Israel's politicians in the past, the rabbi said, but he admitted that Israel was changing.

Growing Popular Demand

This religious sector has grown substantially its proportion of the country's people over the last seventy years, and now constitutes a sizable minority. What began as an deferment for a small number of religious students became, by the onset of the 2023 war, a group of tens of thousands of men exempt from the national service.

Polling data suggest support for ending the exemption is rising. Research in July revealed that an overwhelming percentage of secular and traditional Jews - even a large segment in the Prime Minister's political base - supported consequences for those who refused a draft order, with a solid consensus in favor of cutting state subsidies, passports, or the franchise.

"It makes me feel there are individuals who live in this nation without giving anything back," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv commented.

"I don't think, regardless of piety, [it] should be an justification not to perform service your country," said a young woman. "Being a native, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to opt out just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Views from Within Bnei Brak

Support for extending the draft is also found among religious Jews not part of the Haredi community, like one local resident, who resides close to the seminary and highlights observant but non-Haredi Jews who do serve in the military while also studying Torah.

"It makes me angry that the Haredim don't serve in the army," she said. "It is unjust. I am also committed to the Torah, but there's a saying in Jewish tradition - 'The Book and the Sword' – it represents the scripture and the defense together. That's the way forward, until the messianic era."

Ms Barak manages a local tribute in Bnei Brak to local soldiers, both from all backgrounds, who were lost in conflict. Rows of photographs {