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A looming crisis over enlisting Haredi men into the Israeli army is threatening to undermine the governing coalition and splitting the nation.

Popular sentiment on the question has changed profoundly in Israel in the wake of two years of war, and this is now perhaps the most explosive political risk facing the Prime Minister.

The Legal Conflict

Politicians are currently considering a piece of legislation to terminate the exemption granted to ultra-Orthodox men enrolled in Torah study, instituted when the State of Israel was established in 1948.

That exemption was struck down by the nation's top court two decades ago. Stopgap solutions to continue it were formally ended by the judiciary last year, compelling the cabinet to begin drafting the ultra-Orthodox population.

Some 24,000 draft notices were issued last year, but merely about 1,200 Haredi conscripts enlisted, according to army data presented to lawmakers.

Friction Spill Onto the Streets

Friction is spilling onto the city centers, with lawmakers now discussing a new legislative proposal to require yeshiva students into army duty alongside other secular Israelis.

Two Haredi politicians were confronted this month by radical elements, who are incensed with the legislative debate of the proposed law.

And last week, a elite police squad had to extract army police who were targeted by a sizeable mob of Haredi men as they attempted to detain a man avoiding service.

Such incidents have led to the development of a new alert system called "Dark Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through the religious sector and summon protesters to block enforcement from taking place.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," remarked an activist. "One cannot oppose Judaism in a Jewish country. It is a contradiction."

A World Set Aside

But the changes affecting Israel have not reached the confines of the religious seminary in an ultra-Orthodox city, an ultra-Orthodox city on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, scholars sit in pairs to analyze the Torah, their brightly coloured writing books contrasting with the rows of light-colored shirts and small black kippahs.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see many of the students are engaged in learning," the head of the yeshiva, a senior rabbi, noted. "By studying Torah, we protect the troops in the field. This constitutes our service."

Haredi Jews maintain that unceasing devotion and religious study defend Israel's soldiers, and are as vital to its security as its advanced weaponry. This tenet was accepted by Israel's politicians in the past, he said, but he acknowledged that public attitudes are shifting.

Increasing Public Pressure

This religious sector has grown substantially its percentage of the nation's citizens over the last seventy years, and now constitutes a sizable minority. An exemption that started as an exemption for several hundred Torah scholars turned into, by the beginning of the Gaza war, a group of some 60,000 men not subject to the draft.

Opinion polls show support for ending the exemption is growing. A poll in July found that a large majority of secular and traditional Jews - even a large segment in the Prime Minister's political base - backed penalties for those who declined a draft order, with a firm majority in supporting removing privileges, passports, or the electoral participation.

"It seems to me there are citizens who live in this nation without giving anything back," one serviceman in Tel Aviv said.

"It is my belief, however religious you are, [it] should be an justification not to go and serve your country," stated Gabby. "As a citizen by birth, I find it rather absurd that you want to opt out just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Perspectives from Within Bnei Brak

Advocacy of extending the draft is also found among observant Jews outside the ultra-Orthodox sector, like Dorit Barak, who resides close to the seminary and points to religious Zionists who do perform national service while also maintaining their faith.

"It makes me angry that the Haredim don't serve in the army," she said. "It's unfair. I also believe in the Jewish law, but there's a saying in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the Torah and the weapons together. That's the way forward, until the days of peace."

She manages a local tribute in her city to fallen servicemen, both from all backgrounds, who were killed in battle. Lines of photographs {