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An impending crisis over conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israel Defense Forces is threatening to undermine the governing coalition and dividing the nation.

The public mood on the issue has shifted dramatically in Israel following two years of war, and this is now possibly the most divisive political challenge facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Judicial Struggle

Lawmakers are currently considering a piece of legislation to terminate the exemption given to yeshiva scholars engaged in full-time religious study, established when the State of Israel was established in 1948.

This arrangement was struck down by the Supreme Court almost 20 years ago. Stopgap solutions to continue it were formally ended by the judiciary last year, pressuring the cabinet to start enlisting the community.

Some 24,000 enlistment orders were sent out last year, but merely about 1,200 Haredi conscripts reported for duty, according to defense officials presented to lawmakers.

Tensions Spill Onto the Streets

Tensions are erupting onto the streets, with parliamentarians now discussing a new draft bill to compel yeshiva students into army duty alongside other Jewish citizens.

Two representatives were targeted this month by radical elements, who are incensed with the legislative debate of the bill.

And last week, a specialized force had to extract army police who were attacked by a large crowd of community members as they tried to arrest a suspected draft-evader.

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

"This is a Jewish state," stated Shmuel Orbach. "You can't fight against the Jewish faith in a Jewish state. That is untenable."

An Environment Apart

However the transformations blowing through Israel have failed to penetrate the environment of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in a Haredi stronghold, an Haredi enclave on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, scholars study together to debate Judaism's religious laws, their distinctive school notebooks contrasting with the seats of white shirts and head coverings.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see half the guys are studying Torah," the leader of the seminary, a senior rabbi, explained. "By studying Torah, we shield the soldiers wherever they are. This is our army."

The community holds that constant study and spiritual pursuit guard Israel's military, and are as essential to its security as its advanced weaponry. This tenet was endorsed by the nation's leaders in the past, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he acknowledged that public attitudes are shifting.

Growing Societal Anger

The Haredi community has grown substantially its percentage of Israel's population over the past seven decades, and now accounts for a sizable minority. An exemption that started as an exception for several hundred Torah scholars became, by the onset of the Gaza war, a body of tens of thousands of men left out of the draft.

Surveys show support for drafting the Haredim is growing. Research in July found that a large majority of non-Haredi Jews - including a large segment in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - backed penalties for those who ignored a call-up notice, with a firm majority in supporting removing privileges, the right to travel, or the franchise.

"It seems to me there are citizens who are part of this country without serving," one serviceman in Tel Aviv explained.

"I don't think, regardless of piety, [it] should be an excuse not to fulfill your duty to your country," added Gabby. "If you're born here, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to exempt yourself just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Perspectives from Within the Community

Support for broadening conscription is also coming from observant Jews beyond the Haredi community, like one local resident, who lives near the yeshiva and notes observant but non-Haredi Jews who do enlist in the army while also engaging in religious study.

"I'm very angry that the Haredim don't enlist," she said. "This creates inequality. I also believe in the Jewish law, but there's a teaching in Jewish tradition - 'The Book and the Sword' – it represents the scripture and the defense together. This is the correct approach, until the arrival of peace."

The resident maintains a small memorial in Bnei Brak to local soldiers, both from all backgrounds, who were fallen in war. Long columns of photographs {