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An impending crisis over drafting Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces is jeopardizing the governing coalition and dividing the country.

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

The Constitutional Conflict

Lawmakers are currently considering a proposal to end the exemption granted to yeshiva scholars dedicated to full-time religious study, instituted when the modern Israel was declared in 1948.

This arrangement was declared unconstitutional by Israel's High Court of Justice almost 20 years ago. Interim measures to continue it were finally concluded by the court last year, compelling the cabinet to begin drafting the Haredi sector.

Roughly 24,000 enlistment orders were issued last year, but just approximately 1,200 men from the community showed up, according to military testimony given to lawmakers.

Friction Spill Onto the Streets

Tensions are erupting onto the city centers, with lawmakers now deliberating a new legislative proposal to compel yeshiva students into national service in the same way as other secular Israelis.

Two Haredi politicians were harassed this month by radical elements, who are furious with parliament's discussion of the draft legislation.

And last week, a elite police squad had to assist enforcement personnel who were targeted by a sizeable mob of Haredi men as they sought to apprehend a man avoiding service.

These enforcement actions have sparked the creation of a new communication network named "Black Alert" to spread word quickly through Haredi neighborhoods and call out activists to block enforcement from taking place.

"We're a Jewish country," stated one protester. "It's impossible to battle Judaism in a Jewish country. That is untenable."

An Environment Separate

But the changes affecting Israel have not yet breached the confines of the religious seminary in an ultra-Orthodox city, an Haredi enclave on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, young students study together to debate the Torah, their vividly colored notepads standing out against the lines of white shirts and small black kippahs.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see a significant portion are engaged in learning," the dean of the seminary, Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, said. "Via dedicated learning, we safeguard the troops on the front lines. This is how we contribute."

Haredi Jews maintain that continuous prayer and spiritual pursuit protect Israel's armed forces, and are as vital to its defense as its advanced weaponry. That belief was accepted by Israel's politicians in the past, the rabbi said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Growing Public Pressure

The Haredi community has significantly increased its share of Israel's population over the last seventy years, and now constitutes a sizable minority. What began as an exception for several hundred religious students evolved into, by the start of the 2023 war, a cohort of approximately 60,000 men exempt from the draft.

Surveys indicate backing for ending the exemption is rising. A poll in July showed that an overwhelming percentage of non-Haredi Jews - including a large segment in the Prime Minister's political base - favored consequences for those who ignored a draft order, with a clear majority in approving cutting state subsidies, travel documents, or the electoral participation.

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

"In my view, regardless of piety, [it] should be an reason not to go and serve your nation," said a Tel Aviv resident. "As a citizen by birth, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to exempt yourself just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Voices from the Heart of the Community

Backing for broadening conscription is also coming from religious Jews outside the Haredi community, like Dorit Barak, who is a neighbor of the yeshiva and notes religious Zionists who do enlist in the army while also engaging in religious study.

"I'm very angry that ultra-Orthodox people don't serve in the army," she said. "It is unjust. I also believe in the Torah, but there's a teaching in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the Torah and the guns together. This is the correct approach, until the days of peace."

Ms Barak manages a local tribute in the neighborhood to soldiers from the area, both from all backgrounds, who were lost in conflict. Rows of faces {