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A looming crisis over conscripting Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces is threatening to undermine Israel's government and fracturing the country.

Popular sentiment on the issue has changed profoundly in Israel following two years of hostilities, and this is now perhaps the most divisive political risk facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Legal Struggle

Lawmakers are currently considering a draft bill to terminate the exemption awarded to yeshiva scholars dedicated to yeshiva learning, instituted when the modern Israel was established in 1948.

The deferment was declared unconstitutional by the nation's top court almost 20 years ago. Temporary arrangements to maintain it were finally concluded by the bench last year, pressuring the cabinet to begin drafting the ultra-Orthodox population.

Some 24,000 call-up papers were delivered last year, but only around 1,200 Haredi conscripts reported for duty, according to army data shared with lawmakers.

Strains Erupt Into Violence

Tensions are erupting onto the streets, with lawmakers now debating a new draft bill to require yeshiva students into army duty in the same way as other secular Israelis.

Two Haredi politicians were confronted this month by radical elements, who are incensed with the Knesset's deliberations of the draft legislation.

In a recent incident, a elite police squad had to rescue Military Police officers who were surrounded by a sizeable mob of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they sought to apprehend a suspected draft-evader.

Such incidents have prompted the establishment of a new communication network named "Dark Alert" to spread word quickly through ultra-Orthodox communities and mobilize activists to block enforcement from taking place.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," said one protester. "It's impossible to battle the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It is a contradiction."

A Realm Set Aside

But the changes sweeping across Israel have not reached the environment of the Torah academy in an ultra-Orthodox city, an religious community on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, scholars learn in partnerships to debate Judaism's religious laws, their distinctive notepads contrasting with the seats of white shirts and head coverings.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see half the guys are pursuing religious study," the head of the academy, the spiritual guide, noted. "Through religious study, we shield the military personnel wherever they are. This constitutes our service."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that continuous prayer and spiritual pursuit protect Israel's soldiers, and are as essential to its security as its conventional forces. This tenet was endorsed by Israel's politicians in the previous eras, the rabbi said, but he conceded that public attitudes are shifting.

Rising Public Pressure

This religious sector has significantly increased its proportion of the country's people over the since the state's founding, and now accounts for a sizable minority. An exemption that started as an deferment for several hundred religious students turned into, by the onset of the Gaza war, a body of tens of thousands of men left out of the draft.

Opinion polls show support for drafting the Haredim is increasing. Research in July found that 85% of the broader Jewish public - including a large segment in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - supported sanctions for those who ignored a draft order, with a clear majority in approving withdrawing benefits, passports, or the electoral participation.

"It makes me feel there are people who reside in this country without giving anything back," one military member in Tel Aviv commented.

"It is my belief, no matter how devout, [it] should be an reason not to perform service your state," added Gabby. "If you're born here, I find it rather absurd that you want to opt out just to engage in religious study all day."

Voices from Within the Community

Advocacy of extending the draft is also expressed by observant Jews beyond the Haredi community, like one local resident, who resides close to the yeshiva and highlights religious Zionists who do perform national service while also studying Torah.

"I am frustrated that ultra-Orthodox people don't serve in the army," she said. "This creates inequality. I am also committed to the Jewish law, but there's a saying in Jewish tradition - 'The Book and the Sword' – it represents the Torah and the defense together. This is the correct approach, until the messianic era."

She runs a small memorial in Bnei Brak to local soldiers, both from all backgrounds, who were killed in battle. Lines of photographs {