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A gathering crisis over conscripting Haredi men into the Israeli army is threatening to undermine the administration and dividing the country.

Public opinion on the question has changed profoundly in Israel following two years of hostilities, and this is now perhaps the most volatile political risk facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Battle

Politicians are now debating a piece of legislation to abolish the deferment granted to yeshiva scholars enrolled in full-time religious study, established when the the nation was founded in 1948.

The deferment was struck down by Israel's High Court of Justice almost 20 years ago. Temporary arrangements to continue it were officially terminated by the court last year, forcing the government to begin drafting the community.

Approximately 24,000 call-up papers were issued last year, but merely about 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees enlisted, according to army data shared with lawmakers.

Strains Erupt Onto the Streets

Strains are boiling over onto the city centers, with lawmakers now deliberating a new legislative proposal to compel yeshiva students into military service together with other secular Israelis.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were harassed this month by radical elements, who are enraged with the legislative debate of the proposed law.

In a recent incident, a elite police squad had to extract enforcement personnel who were surrounded by a big group of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they sought to apprehend a man avoiding service.

These enforcement actions have sparked the creation of a new messaging system called "Dark Alert" to spread word quickly through Haredi neighborhoods and mobilize demonstrators to block enforcement from occurring.

"We're a Jewish country," stated an activist. "You can't fight against the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It is a contradiction."

An Environment Apart

But the shifts sweeping across Israel have failed to penetrate the confines of the Torah academy in a Haredi stronghold, an Haredi enclave on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, teenage boys study together to analyze Jewish law, their brightly coloured school notebooks standing out against the rows of white shirts and small black kippahs.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see half the guys are pursuing religious study," the head of the seminary, a senior rabbi, noted. "Through religious study, we protect the military personnel wherever they are. This constitutes our service."

Haredi Jews maintain that unceasing devotion and Torah learning defend Israel's military, and are as vital to its military success as its advanced weaponry. That belief was acknowledged by previous governments in the past, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he acknowledged that the nation is evolving.

Increasing Popular Demand

The ultra-Orthodox population has more than doubled its share of the country's people over the last seventy years, and now represents 14%. A policy that originated as an deferment for several hundred yeshiva attendees turned into, by the onset of the recent conflict, a body of tens of thousands of men left out of the draft.

Surveys show support for drafting the Haredim is growing. A survey in July showed that a large majority of the broader Jewish public - encompassing a large segment in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - supported penalties for those who ignored a enlistment summons, with a firm majority in supporting cutting state subsidies, passports, or the electoral participation.

"It makes me feel there are citizens who live in this country without contributing," one military member in Tel Aviv commented.

"In my view, regardless of piety, [it] should be an reason not to go and serve your country," stated a young woman. "As a citizen by birth, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to opt out just to engage in religious study all day."

Perspectives from the Heart of the Community

Advocacy of broadening conscription is also coming from observant Jews outside the Haredi community, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who lives near the academy and highlights religious Zionists who do perform national service while also maintaining their faith.

"It makes me angry that this community don't perform military service," she said. "This creates inequality. I am also committed to the Jewish law, but there's a saying in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the scripture and the defense together. This is the correct approach, until the messianic era."

The resident manages a local tribute in Bnei Brak to local soldiers, both religious and secular, who were fallen in war. Long columns of images {