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A looming political storm over enlisting Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces is posing a risk to Israel's government and splitting the country.

Public opinion on the matter has changed profoundly in Israel in the wake of two years of hostilities, and this is now arguably the most divisive political risk facing the Prime Minister.

The Constitutional Conflict

Legislators are now debating a piece of legislation to end the special status granted to yeshiva scholars dedicated to full-time religious study, instituted when the the nation was declared in 1948.

This arrangement was ruled illegal by Israel's High Court of Justice almost 20 years ago. Stopgap solutions to continue it were formally ended by the bench last year, forcing the cabinet to commence conscription of the community.

Roughly 24,000 draft notices were issued last year, but only around 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees showed up, according to military testimony given to lawmakers.

Tensions Spill Onto the Streets

Tensions are erupting onto the streets, with elected officials now discussing a new draft bill to require yeshiva students into military service alongside other Jewish citizens.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were confronted this month by hardline activists, who are incensed with parliament's discussion of the bill.

And last week, a special Border Police unit had to rescue enforcement personnel who were targeted by a sizeable mob of Haredi men as they attempted to detain a suspected draft-evader.

These enforcement actions have led to the development of a new communication network called "Emergency Alert" to spread word quickly through the religious sector and mobilize protesters to stop detentions from taking place.

"We're a Jewish country," remarked one protester. "One cannot oppose the Jewish faith in a Jewish state. That is untenable."

An Environment Apart

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

In the learning space, young students study together to analyze Judaism's religious laws, their brightly coloured writing books contrasting with the seats of formal attire and head coverings.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see half the guys are studying Torah," the dean of the academy, a senior rabbi, said. "By studying Torah, we protect the military personnel in the field. This constitutes our service."

Haredi Jews maintain that constant study and Torah learning guard Israel's military, and are as vital to its security as its tanks and air force. This tenet was accepted by Israel's politicians in the earlier decades, the rabbi said, but he acknowledged that Israel was changing.

Increasing Societal Anger

This religious sector has grown substantially its proportion of the nation's citizens over the past seven decades, and now accounts for around one in seven. What began as an exemption for several hundred Torah scholars became, by the onset of the 2023 war, a cohort of tens of thousands of men left out of the draft.

Surveys indicate backing for ending the exemption is growing. A survey in July found that an overwhelming percentage of secular and traditional Jews - including almost three-quarters in the Prime Minister's political base - supported penalties for those who refused a enlistment summons, with a solid consensus in approving cutting state subsidies, passports, or the franchise.

"It makes me feel there are individuals who are part of this country without contributing," one serviceman in Tel Aviv commented.

"It is my belief, however religious you are, [it] should be an excuse not to perform service your nation," added Gabby. "Being a native, I find it rather absurd that you want to avoid service just to study Torah all day."

Perspectives from the Heart of a Religious City

Backing for ending the exemption is also found among observant Jews outside the Haredi community, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the yeshiva and points to observant but non-Haredi Jews who do perform national service while also maintaining their faith.

"It makes me angry that the Haredim don't enlist," she said. "It is unjust. I too follow the Torah, but there's a saying in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the scripture and the guns together. This is the correct approach, until the days of peace."

She runs a local tribute in the neighborhood to fallen servicemen, both religious and secular, who were lost in conflict. Rows of faces {