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A looming political storm over enlisting Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces is threatening to undermine the administration and splitting the state.

Popular sentiment on the issue has changed profoundly in Israel following two years of war, and this is now perhaps the most divisive political risk facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Legal Struggle

Politicians are currently considering a proposal to end the deferment given to Haredi students dedicated to yeshiva learning, instituted when the State of Israel was established in 1948.

The deferment was struck down by the Supreme Court in the early 2000s. Interim measures to maintain it were formally ended by the bench last year, pressuring the cabinet to start enlisting the community.

Roughly 24,000 call-up papers were sent out last year, but only around 1,200 Haredi conscripts showed up, according to defense officials shared with lawmakers.

Strains Spill Into Violence

Tensions are erupting onto the public squares, with parliamentarians now debating a new legislative proposal to require yeshiva students into military service together with other Jewish citizens.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were targeted this month by radical elements, who are enraged with the legislative debate of the bill.

Recently, a elite police squad had to extract Military Police officers who were targeted by a sizeable mob of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they tried to arrest a alleged conscription dodger.

Such incidents have prompted the establishment of a new communication network named "Dark Alert" to spread word quickly through Haredi neighborhoods and call out demonstrators to prevent arrests from happening.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," stated an activist. "You can't fight against Judaism in a nation founded on Jewish identity. That is untenable."

A World Separate

However the changes affecting Israel have not yet breached the walls of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in a Haredi stronghold, an ultra-Orthodox city on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, young students study together to discuss Jewish law, their brightly coloured writing books contrasting with the rows of light-colored shirts and small black kippahs.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see many of the students are pursuing religious study," the dean of the academy, Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, explained. "By studying Torah, we safeguard the soldiers in the field. This is how we contribute."

Haredi Jews maintain that unceasing devotion and religious study protect Israel's military, and are as crucial to its security as its tanks and air force. That belief was accepted by Israel's politicians in the previous eras, he said, but he admitted that the nation is evolving.

Rising Societal Anger

The ultra-Orthodox population 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 small number of Torah scholars became, by the start of the Gaza war, a group of approximately 60,000 men left out of the conscription.

Polling data show support for ultra-Orthodox conscription is rising. Research in July found that an overwhelming percentage of non-Haredi Jews - encompassing almost three-quarters in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - backed penalties for those who declined a enlistment summons, with a clear majority in favor of removing privileges, passports, or the electoral participation.

"It makes me feel there are individuals who live in this country without serving," one military member in Tel Aviv explained.

"It is my belief, no matter how devout, [it] should be an excuse not to go and serve your country," said a young woman. "Being a native, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to avoid service just to study Torah all day."

Perspectives from Within a Religious City

Support for ending the exemption is also coming from religious Jews beyond the ultra-Orthodox sector, like one local resident, who lives near the yeshiva and points to non-Haredi religious Jews who do enlist in the army while also engaging in religious study.

"It makes me angry that ultra-Orthodox people don't perform military service," she said. "It is unjust. I am also committed to the Jewish law, but there's a teaching in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the scripture and the weapons together. This is the correct approach, until the arrival of peace."

Ms Barak manages a local tribute in her city to fallen servicemen, both observant and non-observant, who were lost in conflict. Long columns of faces {