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

The public mood on the issue has changed profoundly in Israel following two years of war, and this is now possibly the most volatile political challenge facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Legal Battle

Politicians are reviewing a piece of legislation to abolish the special status granted to Haredi students dedicated to full-time religious study, created when the State of Israel was established in 1948.

That exemption was declared unconstitutional by Israel's High Court of Justice two decades ago. Temporary arrangements to continue it were finally concluded by the court last year, pressuring the cabinet to commence conscription of the ultra-Orthodox population.

Some 24,000 call-up papers were delivered last year, but only around 1,200 men from the community showed up, according to defense officials shared with lawmakers.

Strains Spill Into Public View

Friction is spilling onto the streets, with parliamentarians now discussing a new conscription law to compel yeshiva students into army duty in the same way as other Israeli Jews.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were targeted this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are furious with the Knesset's deliberations of the draft legislation.

In a recent incident, a special Border Police unit had to assist army police who were targeted by a sizeable mob of community members as they attempted to detain a alleged conscription dodger.

These arrests have led to the development of a new messaging system dubbed "Black Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and summon activists to block enforcement from taking place.

"This is a Jewish state," stated Shmuel Orbach. "It's impossible to battle Judaism in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It is a contradiction."

An Environment Apart

But the changes blowing through Israel have not yet breached the confines of the religious seminary in a Haredi stronghold, an Haredi enclave on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, young students learn in partnerships to analyze the Torah, their distinctive school notebooks standing out against the seats of light-colored shirts and head coverings.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see half the guys are studying Torah," the leader of the yeshiva, Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, noted. "Via dedicated learning, we shield the military personnel in the field. This is our army."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that unceasing devotion and spiritual pursuit defend Israel's armed forces, and are as crucial to its military success as its tanks and air force. That belief was accepted by the nation's leaders in the earlier decades, he said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Increasing Societal Anger

This religious sector has significantly increased its percentage of Israel's population over the last seventy years, and now represents a sizable minority. What began as an deferment for a small number of yeshiva attendees evolved into, by the onset of the 2023 war, a cohort of some 60,000 men not subject to the national service.

Polling data suggest backing for ending the exemption is increasing. Research in July showed that an overwhelming percentage of non-Haredi Jews - even a significant majority in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - favored sanctions for those who declined a draft order, with a firm majority in supporting withdrawing benefits, passports, or the franchise.

"I feel there are individuals who reside in this nation without serving," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv explained.

"I don't think, however religious you are, [it] should be an justification not to go and serve your state," stated Gabby. "Being a native, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to opt out just to engage in religious study all day."

Perspectives from Within the Community

Support for ending the exemption is also expressed by religious Jews not part of the ultra-Orthodox sector, like one local resident, who lives near the seminary and notes religious Zionists who do serve in the military while also studying Torah.

"I am frustrated that the Haredim don't perform military service," she said. "It is unjust. I also believe in the Torah, but there's a proverb in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it means the scripture and the guns together. That's the way forward, until the messianic era."

Ms Barak runs a local tribute in her city to local soldiers, both observant and non-observant, who were fallen in war. Lines of photographs {