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An impending political storm over enlisting Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces is posing a risk to the governing coalition and fracturing the country.

The public mood on the matter has undergone a sea change in Israel following two years of conflict, and this is now perhaps the most divisive political risk facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Battle

Legislators are currently considering a proposal to terminate the deferment given to yeshiva scholars enrolled in Torah study, created when the modern Israel was founded in 1948.

That exemption was ruled illegal by Israel's High Court of Justice almost 20 years ago. Temporary arrangements to continue it were formally ended by the court last year, compelling the cabinet to start enlisting the Haredi sector.

Approximately 24,000 call-up papers were sent out last year, but merely about 1,200 Haredi conscripts showed up, according to defense officials given to lawmakers.

Strains Boil Over Onto the Streets

Tensions are erupting onto the city centers, with elected officials now deliberating a new draft bill to compel yeshiva students into national service in the same way as other Israeli Jews.

Two representatives were harassed this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are furious with the legislative debate of the draft legislation.

Recently, a special Border Police unit had to rescue Military Police officers who were targeted by a sizeable mob of Haredi men as they tried to arrest a man avoiding service.

Such incidents have sparked the creation of a new alert system named "Emergency Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through ultra-Orthodox communities and summon protesters to block enforcement from taking place.

"We're a Jewish country," remarked Shmuel Orbach. "You can't fight against Judaism in a Jewish country. That is untenable."

An Environment Separate

But the transformations blowing through Israel have not reached the walls of the Torah academy in Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox city on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, scholars learn in partnerships to analyze Jewish law, their brightly coloured school notebooks contrasting with the lines of light-colored shirts and traditional skullcaps.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see many of the students are engaged in learning," the head of the seminary, a senior rabbi, noted. "By studying Torah, we shield the soldiers wherever they are. This is our army."

Haredi Jews maintain that constant study and Torah learning guard Israel's military, and are as vital to its security as its conventional forces. That belief was endorsed by previous governments in the earlier decades, the rabbi said, but he acknowledged that Israel was changing.

Rising Public Pressure

The ultra-Orthodox population has more than doubled its share of Israel's population over the past seven decades, and now accounts for 14%. An exemption that started as an deferment for a small number of Torah scholars turned into, by the beginning of the Gaza war, a body of approximately 60,000 men exempt from the national service.

Surveys show support for ending the exemption is increasing. A survey in July revealed that 85% of non-Haredi Jews - even a significant majority in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - backed penalties for those who declined a call-up notice, with a firm majority in supporting withdrawing benefits, passports, or the right to vote.

"I feel there are individuals who reside in this country without giving anything back," one military member in Tel Aviv commented.

"It is my belief, regardless of piety, [it] should be an justification not to go and serve your nation," added Gabby. "Being a native, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to exempt yourself just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Views from Inside the Community

Backing for broadening conscription is also expressed by traditional Jews not part of the Haredi community, like Dorit Barak, who lives near the seminary and highlights observant but non-Haredi Jews who do serve in the military while also engaging in religious study.

"It makes me angry that this community don't serve in the army," she said. "It is unjust. I am also committed to the Torah, but there's a saying in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it means the scripture and the defense together. That is the path, until the arrival of peace."

Ms Barak manages a local tribute in her city to local soldiers, both observant and non-observant, who were killed in battle. Long columns of images {