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A gathering crisis over enlisting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military is jeopardizing the administration and splitting the state.

Public opinion on the question has changed profoundly in Israel following two years of hostilities, and this is now possibly the most divisive political risk facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Judicial Struggle

Lawmakers are now debating a piece of legislation to end the exemption awarded to ultra-Orthodox men enrolled in full-time religious study, established when the modern Israel was declared in 1948.

This arrangement was ruled illegal by Israel's High Court of Justice two decades ago. Temporary arrangements to maintain it were finally concluded by the bench last year, pressuring the cabinet to commence conscription of the community.

Roughly 24,000 call-up papers were issued last year, but merely about 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees reported for duty, according to military testimony given to lawmakers.

Friction Erupt Into Violence

Friction is spilling onto the streets, with elected officials now deliberating a new draft bill to require ultra-Orthodox men into army duty together with other Israeli Jews.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were targeted this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are enraged with parliament's discussion of the draft legislation.

Recently, a elite police squad had to rescue enforcement personnel who were surrounded by a big group of Haredi men as they sought to apprehend a alleged conscription dodger.

Such incidents have sparked the creation of a new alert system called "Black Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and summon demonstrators to prevent arrests from occurring.

"This is a Jewish state," said an activist. "One cannot oppose religious practice in a nation founded on Jewish identity. That is untenable."

A World Set Aside

But the shifts affecting Israel have not yet breached the confines of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in Bnei Brak, an Haredi enclave on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, teenage boys study together to analyze Judaism's religious laws, their brightly coloured notepads standing out against the seats of light-colored shirts and traditional skullcaps.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see half the guys are studying Torah," the leader of the seminary, a senior rabbi, noted. "Via dedicated learning, we safeguard the soldiers on the front lines. This is how we contribute."

The community holds that unceasing devotion and spiritual pursuit guard Israel's soldiers, and are as vital to its security as its tanks and air force. This conviction was acknowledged by Israel's politicians in the earlier decades, the rabbi said, but he conceded that the nation is evolving.

Increasing Popular Demand

This religious sector has more than doubled its share of the nation's citizens over the last seventy years, and now accounts for around one in seven. What began as an exception for a small number of religious students turned into, by the beginning of the recent conflict, a group of some 60,000 men not subject to the draft.

Surveys show approval of ending the exemption is growing. A survey in July showed that a large majority of non-Haredi Jews - including almost three-quarters in his own coalition allies - favored penalties for those who declined a enlistment summons, with a solid consensus in approving withdrawing benefits, passports, or the electoral participation.

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

"It is my belief, no matter how devout, [it] should be an reason not to perform service your nation," stated Gabby. "If you're born here, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to opt out just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Perspectives from the Heart of Bnei Brak

Backing for broadening conscription is also expressed by observant Jews beyond the ultra-Orthodox sector, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the yeshiva and notes observant but non-Haredi Jews who do serve in the military while also studying Torah.

"I'm very angry that ultra-Orthodox people don't serve in the army," she said. "It is unjust. I also believe in the Torah, but there's a teaching in Hebrew - 'The Book and the Sword' – it means the Torah and the guns together. That is the path, until the arrival of peace."

The resident runs a local tribute in the neighborhood to local soldiers, both from all backgrounds, who were fallen in war. Long columns of photographs {