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An impending political storm over conscripting Haredi men into the military is threatening to undermine Israel's government and splitting the country.

Public opinion on the issue has undergone a sea change in Israel following two years of hostilities, and this is now possibly the most divisive political risk facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Legal Battle

Lawmakers are currently considering a proposal to terminate the deferment awarded to yeshiva scholars engaged in full-time religious study, established when the the nation was founded in 1948.

The deferment was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court two decades ago. Stopgap solutions to maintain it were formally ended by the court last year, compelling the cabinet to commence conscription of the community.

Some 24,000 call-up papers were issued last year, but just approximately 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees showed up, according to military testimony given to lawmakers.

Strains Erupt Into Public View

Friction is spilling onto the streets, with parliamentarians now discussing a new legislative proposal to force yeshiva students into military service in the same way as other Jewish citizens.

Two representatives were confronted this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are enraged with the Knesset's deliberations of the proposed law.

And last week, a special Border Police unit had to rescue Military Police officers who were surrounded by a sizeable mob of community members as they tried to arrest a suspected draft-evader.

These enforcement actions have sparked the creation of a new communication network called "Dark Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and call out demonstrators to prevent arrests from occurring.

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

An Environment Set Aside

Yet the transformations affecting Israel have not reached the environment of the religious seminary in Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, young students sit in pairs to discuss Judaism's religious laws, their distinctive notepads contrasting with the seats of white shirts and traditional skullcaps.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see a significant portion are pursuing religious study," the head of the seminary, the spiritual guide, noted. "By studying Torah, we protect the troops on the front lines. This constitutes our service."

The community holds that continuous prayer and Torah learning defend Israel's armed forces, and are as essential to its security as its advanced weaponry. This tenet was accepted by Israel's politicians in the earlier decades, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he acknowledged that public attitudes are shifting.

Increasing Public Pressure

This religious sector has grown substantially its percentage of the country's people over the past seven decades, and now represents around one in seven. An exemption that started as an exemption for a small number of Torah scholars became, by the onset of the Gaza war, a group of approximately 60,000 men not subject to the draft.

Polling data suggest backing for ending the exemption is growing. A poll in July revealed that an overwhelming percentage of non-Haredi Jews - even a significant majority in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - supported sanctions for those who declined a call-up notice, with a clear majority in supporting removing privileges, the right to travel, or the franchise.

"I feel there are citizens who live in this country without contributing," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv said.

"In my view, regardless of piety, [it] should be an reason not to go and serve your country," stated a young woman. "Being a native, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to exempt yourself just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Voices from Inside a Religious City

Support for ending the exemption is also expressed by observant Jews not part of the Haredi community, like one local resident, who is a neighbor of the academy and points to religious Zionists who do enlist in the army while also engaging in religious study.

"I am frustrated that ultra-Orthodox people don't perform military service," she said. "It's unfair. I too follow the Torah, but there's a proverb in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it means the scripture and the guns together. This is the correct approach, until the messianic era."

The resident maintains a small memorial in her city to local soldiers, both religious and secular, who were fallen in war. Long columns of faces {