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A gathering political storm over enlisting Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces is jeopardizing Israel's government and dividing the state.

Popular sentiment on the question has changed profoundly in Israel following two years of conflict, and this is now arguably the most divisive political risk facing the Prime Minister.

The Constitutional Battle

Legislators are currently considering a draft bill to end the exemption awarded to Haredi students enrolled in Torah study, established when the State of Israel was declared in 1948.

This arrangement was struck down by the Supreme Court almost 20 years ago. Stopgap solutions to extend it were officially terminated by the judiciary last year, forcing the government to commence conscription of the ultra-Orthodox population.

Approximately 24,000 draft notices were sent out last year, but merely about 1,200 men from the community reported for duty, according to army data given to lawmakers.

Strains Erupt Onto the Streets

Friction is spilling onto the streets, with parliamentarians now debating a new draft bill to require Haredi males into army duty alongside other Israeli Jews.

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

Recently, a elite police squad had to extract Military Police officers who were attacked by a large crowd of Haredi men as they attempted to detain a man avoiding service.

Such incidents have sparked the creation of a new communication network named "Dark Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and call out protesters to block enforcement from taking place.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," stated one protester. "You can't fight against the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It doesn't work."

A World Separate

Yet the shifts blowing through Israel have failed to penetrate the confines of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in a Haredi stronghold, an religious community on the edge of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, young students study together to discuss the Torah, their distinctive notepads popping against the lines of light-colored shirts and small black kippahs.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see half the guys are pursuing religious study," the head of the yeshiva, the spiritual guide, noted. "By studying Torah, we protect the soldiers in the field. This is how we contribute."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that constant study and religious study defend Israel's military, and are as vital to its defense as its conventional forces. That belief was accepted by previous governments in the previous eras, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he acknowledged that Israel was changing.

Growing Public Pressure

The Haredi community has more than doubled its proportion of Israel's population over the past seven decades, and now accounts for a sizable minority. An exemption that started as an deferment for a small number of yeshiva attendees turned into, by the beginning of the recent conflict, a body of some 60,000 men left out of the national service.

Surveys suggest backing for ultra-Orthodox conscription is rising. A poll in July revealed that a large majority of secular and traditional Jews - including a large segment in his own coalition allies - favored penalties for those who ignored a call-up notice, with a firm majority in favor of removing privileges, passports, or the franchise.

"It makes me feel there are people who reside in this nation without serving," one serviceman in Tel Aviv commented.

"In my view, however religious you are, [it] should be an justification not to perform service your country," said a young woman. "Being a native, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to opt out just to study Torah all day."

Voices from Within a Religious City

Backing for broadening conscription is also coming from religious Jews not part of the Haredi community, like one local resident, who is a neighbor of the yeshiva and notes non-Haredi religious Jews who do enlist in the army while also studying Torah.

"I am frustrated that this community don't enlist," she said. "It is unjust. I also believe in the Jewish law, but there's a saying in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the scripture and the defense together. That's the way forward, until the messianic era."

Ms Barak maintains a small memorial in the neighborhood to fallen servicemen, both observant and non-observant, who were fallen in war. Long columns of faces {