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A looming political storm over enlisting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israel Defense Forces is posing a risk to the governing coalition and splitting the state.

Public opinion on the question has changed profoundly in Israel following two years of hostilities, and this is now possibly the most divisive political challenge facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Battle

Politicians are currently considering a proposal to abolish the deferment granted to yeshiva scholars enrolled in Torah study, created when the the nation was established in 1948.

That exemption was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the early 2000s. Temporary arrangements to extend it were formally ended by the judiciary last year, pressuring the cabinet to start enlisting the ultra-Orthodox population.

Some 24,000 enlistment orders were delivered last year, but just approximately 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees reported for duty, according to defense officials shared with lawmakers.

Tensions Erupt Into Violence

Friction is spilling onto the city centers, with elected officials now debating a new draft bill to compel Haredi males into army duty in the same way as other Jewish citizens.

Two Haredi politicians were targeted this month by hardline activists, who are incensed with the Knesset's deliberations of the bill.

In a recent incident, a elite police squad had to assist army police who were targeted by a sizeable mob of community members as they attempted to detain a alleged conscription dodger.

Such incidents have led to the development of a new communication network named "Black Alert" to spread word quickly through the religious sector and summon demonstrators to prevent arrests from happening.

"This is a Jewish state," said an activist. "You can't fight against Judaism in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It doesn't work."

An Environment Set Aside

However the transformations affecting Israel have failed to penetrate the environment of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in an ultra-Orthodox city, an religious community on the edge of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, scholars study together to discuss Judaism's religious laws, their vividly colored writing books popping against the seats of light-colored shirts and small black kippahs.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see a significant portion are pursuing religious study," the leader of the seminary, a senior rabbi, said. "Via dedicated learning, we protect the troops wherever they are. This is our army."

Haredi Jews maintain that constant study and spiritual pursuit protect Israel's soldiers, and are as vital to its military success as its advanced weaponry. This tenet was accepted by previous governments in the previous eras, he said, but he conceded that the nation is evolving.

Rising Public Pressure

This religious sector has significantly increased its share of the nation's citizens over the past seven decades, and now represents a sizable minority. An exemption that started as an exemption for a few hundred religious students became, by the onset of the Gaza war, a group of approximately 60,000 men not subject to the national service.

Surveys indicate support for ultra-Orthodox conscription is increasing. A survey in July revealed that an overwhelming percentage of the broader Jewish public - even almost three-quarters in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - favored penalties for those who refused a draft order, with a firm majority in supporting cutting state subsidies, travel documents, or the right to vote.

"It seems to me there are individuals who are part of this nation without contributing," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv commented.

"I don't think, no matter how devout, [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 study Torah all day."

Views from Inside Bnei Brak

Advocacy of extending the draft is also coming from traditional Jews not part of the Haredi community, like one local resident, who resides close to the yeshiva and notes observant but non-Haredi Jews who do enlist in the army while also studying Torah.

"I'm very angry that this community don't perform military service," she said. "It is unjust. I am also committed to the Torah, but there's a saying in Hebrew - 'The Book and the Sword' – it signifies the Torah and the guns together. This is the correct approach, until the messianic era."

The resident manages a local tribute in the neighborhood to soldiers from the area, both observant and non-observant, who were lost in conflict. Long columns of images {