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A gathering crisis over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military is threatening to undermine Israel's government and splitting the nation.

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

The Constitutional Struggle

Lawmakers are now debating a piece of legislation to abolish the exemption awarded to yeshiva scholars enrolled in yeshiva learning, instituted when the the nation was established in 1948.

This arrangement was declared unconstitutional by Israel's High Court of Justice two decades ago. Temporary arrangements to extend it were finally concluded by the bench last year, pressuring the government to start enlisting the Haredi sector.

Approximately 24,000 draft notices were sent out last year, but merely about 1,200 Haredi conscripts reported for duty, according to military testimony presented to lawmakers.

Friction Boil Over Into Public View

Strains are boiling over onto the city centers, with elected officials now deliberating a new draft bill to require ultra-Orthodox men into military service alongside other Jewish citizens.

Two Haredi politicians were targeted this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are incensed with the legislative debate of the draft legislation.

And last week, a special Border Police unit had to rescue army police who were targeted by a sizeable mob of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they sought to apprehend a alleged conscription dodger.

These enforcement actions have prompted the establishment of a new communication network named "Emergency Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and mobilize activists to prevent arrests from taking place.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," stated one protester. "One cannot oppose Judaism in a Jewish state. It is a contradiction."

A Realm Apart

But the shifts affecting Israel have failed to penetrate the confines of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox city on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, scholars sit in pairs to debate Jewish law, their vividly colored school notebooks standing out against the seats of white shirts and head coverings.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see many of the students are studying Torah," the dean of the yeshiva, a senior rabbi, said. "Via dedicated learning, we protect the troops on the front lines. This is how we contribute."

Haredi Jews maintain that unceasing devotion and religious study guard Israel's military, and are as vital to its defense as its conventional forces. This conviction was acknowledged by Israel's politicians in the past, he said, but he acknowledged that the nation is evolving.

Growing Public Pressure

This religious sector has more than doubled its proportion of the nation's citizens over the past seven decades, and now constitutes 14%. An exemption that started as an exception for a few hundred yeshiva attendees turned into, by the start of the Gaza war, a group of approximately 60,000 men exempt from the conscription.

Polling data show backing for ultra-Orthodox conscription is increasing. A survey in July found that 85% of non-Haredi Jews - including a significant majority in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - backed sanctions for those who ignored a call-up notice, with a solid consensus in approving withdrawing benefits, passports, or the electoral participation.

"It makes me feel there are people who reside in this country without serving," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv commented.

"In my view, however religious you are, [it] should be an excuse not to fulfill your duty to your state," stated a Tel Aviv resident. "As a citizen by birth, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to exempt yourself just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Voices from Inside Bnei Brak

Advocacy of ending the exemption is also found among religious Jews outside the ultra-Orthodox sector, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the seminary and notes religious Zionists who do perform national service while also engaging in religious study.

"I am frustrated that this community don't perform military service," she said. "It's unfair. I too follow the Jewish law, but there's a proverb in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it represents the Torah and the weapons together. This is the correct approach, until the days of peace."

She manages a small memorial in the neighborhood to fallen servicemen, both religious and secular, who were killed in battle. Long columns of faces {