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A gathering crisis over conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli army is posing a risk to the governing coalition and fracturing the state.

The public mood on the matter has shifted dramatically in Israel after two years of conflict, and this is now arguably the most explosive political risk facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Legal Battle

Lawmakers are reviewing a draft bill to end the special status awarded to yeshiva scholars engaged in Torah study, established when the the nation was founded in 1948.

This arrangement was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court two decades ago. Stopgap solutions to continue it were finally concluded by the judiciary last year, forcing the cabinet to begin drafting the community.

Some 24,000 draft notices were sent out last year, but merely about 1,200 men from the community enlisted, according to army data shared with lawmakers.

Strains Boil Over Onto the Streets

Friction is spilling onto the city centers, with lawmakers now deliberating a new legislative proposal to compel yeshiva students into national service together with other Jewish citizens.

Two Haredi politicians were confronted this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are incensed with the legislative debate of the draft legislation.

In a recent incident, a elite police squad had to rescue enforcement personnel who were targeted by a large crowd of Haredi men as they tried to arrest a man avoiding service.

These arrests have sparked the creation of a new communication network named "Emergency Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and call out activists to stop detentions from occurring.

"We're a Jewish country," stated Shmuel Orbach. "One cannot oppose Judaism in a nation founded on Jewish identity. That is untenable."

A Realm Separate

However the shifts affecting Israel have not yet breached the environment of the Torah academy in Bnei Brak, an religious community on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, scholars study together to discuss Judaism's religious laws, their brightly coloured writing books contrasting with the rows of light-colored shirts and traditional skullcaps.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see many of the students are pursuing religious study," the head of the seminary, a senior rabbi, noted. "Through religious study, we safeguard the troops in the field. This constitutes our service."

Haredi Jews maintain that unceasing devotion and spiritual pursuit guard Israel's armed forces, and are as crucial to its defense as its advanced weaponry. This tenet was acknowledged by previous governments in the earlier decades, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Rising Public Pressure

This religious sector has grown substantially its percentage of Israel's population over the past seven decades, and now represents 14%. A policy that originated as an deferment for a few hundred Torah scholars evolved into, by the beginning of the 2023 war, a body of tens of thousands of men not subject to the national service.

Opinion polls indicate backing for ultra-Orthodox conscription is increasing. Research in July revealed that an overwhelming percentage of non-Haredi Jews - even a significant majority in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - supported penalties for those who ignored a call-up notice, with a clear majority in favor of cutting state subsidies, passports, or the franchise.

"I feel there are people who reside in this country without contributing," one military member in Tel Aviv said.

"It is my belief, regardless of piety, [it] should be an reason not to perform service your country," stated Gabby. "If you're born here, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to avoid service just to engage in religious study all day."

Voices from Within the Community

Support for broadening conscription is also expressed by religious Jews outside the Haredi community, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who is a neighbor of the yeshiva and notes non-Haredi religious Jews who do perform national service while also studying Torah.

"I am frustrated that this community don't serve in the army," she said. "This creates inequality. I am also committed to the Jewish law, but there's a proverb in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the scripture and the defense together. That's the way forward, until the messianic era."

The resident manages a local tribute in Bnei Brak to local soldiers, both observant and non-observant, who were killed in battle. Long columns of photographs {