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A looming crisis over drafting Haredi men into the military is posing a risk to the administration and fracturing the nation.

The public mood on the matter has changed profoundly in Israel following two years of war, and this is now perhaps the most explosive political challenge facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Conflict

Politicians are now debating a proposal to end the deferment awarded to ultra-Orthodox men enrolled in Torah study, instituted when the State of Israel was founded in 1948.

This arrangement was struck down by the Supreme Court almost 20 years ago. Stopgap solutions to continue it were officially terminated by the judiciary last year, forcing the government to begin drafting the Haredi sector.

Roughly 24,000 enlistment orders were delivered last year, but merely about 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees reported for duty, according to army data shared with lawmakers.

Strains Erupt Into Public View

Friction is spilling onto the city centers, with lawmakers now debating a new legislative proposal to require ultra-Orthodox men into military service alongside other Israeli Jews.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were confronted this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are incensed with the Knesset's deliberations of the bill.

In a recent incident, a elite police squad had to rescue army police who were targeted by a large crowd of community members as they attempted to detain a man avoiding service.

Such incidents have prompted the establishment of a new communication network dubbed "Emergency Alert" to send out instant alerts through Haredi neighborhoods and call out activists to block enforcement from occurring.

"This is a Jewish state," remarked an activist. "You can't fight against religious practice in a Jewish state. It doesn't work."

A Realm Set Aside

Yet the transformations sweeping across Israel have failed to penetrate the environment of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in a Haredi stronghold, an religious community on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, young students sit in pairs to debate Jewish law, their distinctive writing books standing out against the lines of white shirts and traditional skullcaps.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see many of the students are pursuing religious study," the dean of the academy, the spiritual guide, explained. "Via dedicated learning, we protect the military personnel in the field. This is our army."

Haredi Jews maintain that constant study and Torah learning defend Israel's armed forces, and are as crucial to its military success as its advanced weaponry. This tenet was accepted by previous governments in the past, the rabbi said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Increasing Societal Anger

This religious sector has grown substantially its share of Israel's population over the last seventy years, and now represents 14%. What began as an exception for several hundred yeshiva attendees became, by the onset of the Gaza war, a group of approximately 60,000 men left out of the national service.

Opinion polls indicate backing for ultra-Orthodox conscription is growing. A poll in July revealed that an overwhelming percentage of secular and traditional Jews - encompassing almost three-quarters in his own coalition allies - backed sanctions for those who declined a call-up notice, with a firm majority in supporting removing privileges, the right to travel, or the franchise.

"I feel there are citizens who reside in this nation without serving," one serviceman in Tel Aviv said.

"It is my belief, however religious you are, [it] should be an reason not to perform service your nation," stated a young woman. "Being a native, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to opt out just to engage in religious study all day."

Perspectives from the Heart of the Community

Advocacy of extending the draft is also found among traditional Jews beyond the Haredi community, like one local resident, who is a neighbor of the yeshiva and notes religious Zionists who do enlist in the army while also engaging in religious study.

"It makes me angry that this community don't enlist," she said. "This creates inequality. I too follow the Torah, but there's a teaching in Jewish tradition - 'The Book and the Sword' – it means the scripture and the defense together. This is the correct approach, until the arrival of peace."

She manages a local tribute in the neighborhood to fallen servicemen, both from all backgrounds, who were lost in conflict. Long columns of images {