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A looming political storm over enlisting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military is posing a risk to Israel's government and fracturing the state.

Public opinion on the question has undergone a sea change in Israel following two years of war, and this is now possibly the most volatile political risk facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Conflict

Politicians are now debating a draft bill to abolish the deferment awarded to ultra-Orthodox men engaged in full-time religious study, instituted when the modern Israel was established in 1948.

That exemption was struck down by the Supreme Court two decades ago. Temporary arrangements to continue it were finally concluded by the bench last year, pressuring the cabinet to commence conscription of the community.

Approximately 24,000 draft notices were delivered last year, but just approximately 1,200 Haredi conscripts showed up, according to military testimony presented to lawmakers.

Friction Boil Over Onto the Streets

Strains are boiling over onto the city centers, with parliamentarians now discussing a new draft bill to require ultra-Orthodox men into national service alongside other secular Israelis.

Two representatives were targeted this month by hardline activists, who are incensed with parliament's discussion of the bill.

Recently, a specialized force had to extract army police who were targeted by a large crowd of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they sought to apprehend a suspected draft-evader.

Such incidents have prompted the establishment of a new messaging system named "Emergency Alert" to spread word quickly through ultra-Orthodox communities and summon activists to block enforcement from happening.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," remarked Shmuel Orbach. "It's impossible to battle religious practice in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It doesn't work."

An Environment Separate

However the changes sweeping across Israel have failed to penetrate the environment of the Torah academy in a Haredi stronghold, an Haredi enclave on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, young students learn in partnerships to debate Judaism's religious laws, their brightly coloured writing books standing out against the rows of formal attire and head coverings.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see half the guys are studying Torah," the leader of the seminary, the spiritual guide, noted. "Via dedicated learning, we protect the troops wherever they are. This constitutes our service."

The community holds that unceasing devotion and Torah learning protect Israel's armed forces, and are as vital to its defense as its tanks and air force. That belief was endorsed by the nation's leaders in the past, he said, but he admitted that public attitudes are shifting.

Rising Public Pressure

The ultra-Orthodox population has grown substantially its percentage of Israel's population over the since the state's founding, and now represents 14%. An exemption that started as an deferment for a few hundred yeshiva attendees evolved into, by the beginning of the Gaza war, a group of approximately 60,000 men exempt from the conscription.

Opinion polls indicate approval of drafting the Haredim is increasing. A survey in July revealed that a large majority of secular and traditional Jews - including a significant majority in his own coalition allies - favored sanctions for those who ignored a enlistment summons, with a clear majority in supporting removing privileges, travel documents, or the franchise.

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

"In my view, no matter how devout, [it] should be an reason not to go and serve your nation," stated a young woman. "As a citizen by birth, I find it rather absurd that you want to exempt yourself just to engage in religious study all day."

Voices from Inside Bnei Brak

Advocacy of extending the draft is also coming from religious Jews not part of the Haredi community, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who is a neighbor of the academy and highlights observant but non-Haredi Jews who do serve in the military while also studying Torah.

"I'm very angry that this community don't perform military service," she said. "This creates inequality. I also believe in the Jewish law, but there's a proverb in Jewish tradition - 'The Book and the Sword' – it means the scripture and the weapons together. This is the correct approach, until the days of peace."

She maintains a small memorial in the neighborhood to fallen servicemen, both from all backgrounds, who were lost in conflict. Lines of photographs {