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An impending crisis over enlisting Haredi men into the military is threatening to undermine Israel's government and dividing the nation.

Public opinion on the issue has shifted dramatically in Israel following two years of conflict, and this is now arguably the most divisive political issue facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Judicial Battle

Legislators are reviewing a draft bill to terminate the deferment granted to Haredi students engaged in Torah study, instituted when the State of Israel was founded in 1948.

The deferment was declared unconstitutional by the nation's top court in the early 2000s. Stopgap solutions to maintain it were officially terminated by the bench last year, compelling the cabinet to commence conscription of the ultra-Orthodox population.

Approximately 24,000 enlistment orders were sent out last year, but only around 1,200 men from the community reported for duty, according to army data given to lawmakers.

Friction Spill Into Violence

Tensions are erupting onto the streets, with elected officials now debating a new legislative proposal to compel yeshiva students into military service in the same way as other Jewish citizens.

Two representatives were harassed this month by radical elements, who are furious with parliament's discussion of the bill.

In a recent incident, a specialized force had to extract Military Police officers who were targeted by a big group of Haredi men as they attempted to detain a man avoiding service.

Such incidents have sparked the creation of a new communication network named "Black Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through Haredi neighborhoods and mobilize activists to stop detentions from occurring.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," said Shmuel Orbach. "One cannot oppose the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It doesn't work."

A World Apart

But the transformations blowing through Israel have not yet breached the environment of the Torah academy in Bnei Brak, an religious community on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, teenage boys learn in partnerships to discuss Judaism's religious laws, their distinctive school notebooks popping against the lines of formal attire and small black kippahs.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see many of the students are pursuing religious study," the head of the yeshiva, the spiritual guide, said. "By studying Torah, we safeguard the troops in the field. This is how we contribute."

Haredi Jews maintain that continuous prayer and religious study protect Israel's military, and are as crucial to its military success as its advanced weaponry. That belief was accepted by Israel's politicians in the previous eras, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he conceded that the nation is evolving.

Increasing Public Pressure

The Haredi community has grown substantially its proportion of Israel's population over the since the state's founding, and now represents 14%. An exemption that started as an exemption for a few hundred religious students evolved into, by the onset of the 2023 war, a body of tens of thousands of men not subject to the conscription.

Opinion polls suggest backing for drafting the Haredim is growing. Research in July revealed that 85% of secular and traditional Jews - encompassing a large segment in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - supported consequences for those who ignored a draft order, with a clear majority in supporting removing privileges, passports, or the right to vote.

"It seems to me there are individuals who are part of this country without giving anything back," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv said.

"I don't think, regardless of piety, [it] should be an excuse not to fulfill your duty to your state," stated a young woman. "If you're born here, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to exempt yourself just to engage in religious study all day."

Perspectives from Inside the Community

Backing for broadening conscription is also expressed by traditional Jews outside the ultra-Orthodox sector, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the seminary and points to observant but non-Haredi Jews who do enlist in the army while also maintaining their faith.

"I'm very angry that the Haredim don't serve in the army," she said. "It is unjust. I am also committed to the Jewish law, but there's a teaching in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it means the Torah and the defense together. That is the path, until the days of peace."

She runs a modest remembrance site in the neighborhood to local soldiers, both from all backgrounds, who were lost in conflict. Lines of photographs {