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A looming crisis over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israel Defense Forces is jeopardizing the administration and splitting the state.

Public opinion on the issue has shifted dramatically in Israel after two years of war, and this is now possibly the most divisive political challenge facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Judicial Battle

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

This arrangement was ruled illegal by Israel's High Court of Justice two decades ago. Temporary arrangements to maintain it were officially terminated by the judiciary last year, forcing the administration to begin drafting the community.

Approximately 24,000 enlistment orders were issued last year, but just approximately 1,200 men from the community showed up, according to defense officials presented to lawmakers.

Strains Erupt Onto the Streets

Friction is spilling onto the streets, with lawmakers now deliberating a new legislative proposal to require ultra-Orthodox men into military service together with other secular Israelis.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were harassed this month by radical elements, who are incensed with the legislative debate of the proposed law.

And last week, a special Border Police unit had to rescue Military Police officers who were surrounded by a large crowd of Haredi men as they sought to apprehend a suspected draft-evader.

Such incidents have sparked the creation of a new alert system dubbed "Black Alert" to spread word quickly through the religious sector and call out activists to prevent arrests from occurring.

"We're a Jewish country," said Shmuel Orbach. "You can't fight against religious practice in a Jewish state. That is untenable."

A World Separate

However the transformations sweeping across Israel have not yet breached the confines of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in an ultra-Orthodox city, an Haredi enclave on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, young students study together to discuss the Torah, their vividly colored school notebooks popping against the seats of light-colored shirts and traditional skullcaps.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see many of the students are studying Torah," the dean of the academy, a senior rabbi, explained. "Through religious study, we protect the troops in the field. This is our army."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that unceasing devotion and religious study defend Israel's military, and are as vital to its defense as its tanks and air force. This tenet was acknowledged by previous governments in the past, the rabbi said, but he conceded that the nation is evolving.

Growing Societal Anger

The Haredi community has significantly increased its share of Israel's population over the since the state's founding, and now constitutes around one in seven. An exemption that started as an exception for a few hundred religious students turned into, by the onset of the 2023 war, a group of approximately 60,000 men left out of the conscription.

Polling data indicate support for ending the exemption is increasing. Research in July showed that a large majority of the broader Jewish public - encompassing almost three-quarters in the Prime Minister's political base - backed consequences for those who ignored a draft order, with a solid consensus in supporting withdrawing benefits, passports, or the franchise.

"I feel there are people who live in this nation without serving," one military member in Tel Aviv said.

"In my view, no matter how devout, [it] should be an justification not to fulfill your duty to your nation," added Gabby. "If you're born here, I find it rather absurd that you want to opt out just to engage in religious study all day."

Perspectives from Within the Community

Advocacy of broadening conscription is also expressed by traditional Jews outside the Haredi community, like Dorit Barak, who is a neighbor of the academy and points to non-Haredi religious Jews who do perform national service while also engaging in religious study.

"I am frustrated that this community don't serve in the army," she said. "It is unjust. I also believe in the Jewish law, but there's a teaching in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the Torah and the defense together. That is the path, until the messianic era."

The resident maintains a modest remembrance site in the neighborhood to fallen servicemen, both from all backgrounds, who were killed in battle. Lines of faces {