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A looming political storm over conscripting Haredi men into the Israeli army is jeopardizing Israel's government and fracturing the country.

Public opinion on the issue has changed profoundly in Israel following two years of hostilities, and this is now arguably the most volatile political issue facing the Prime Minister.

The Legal Struggle

Legislators are currently considering a proposal to terminate the deferment granted to ultra-Orthodox men dedicated to Torah study, instituted when the modern Israel was founded in 1948.

This arrangement was struck down by the Supreme Court almost 20 years ago. Temporary arrangements to maintain it were formally ended by the bench last year, forcing the administration to commence conscription of the community.

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

Strains Spill Into Violence

Friction is spilling onto the streets, with parliamentarians now deliberating a new draft bill to require ultra-Orthodox men into national service in the same way as other Jewish citizens.

Two Haredi politicians were confronted this month by radical elements, who are furious with the legislative debate of the bill.

And last week, a elite police squad had to extract army police who were surrounded by a big group of Haredi men as they tried to arrest a man avoiding service.

These arrests have sparked the creation of a new alert system called "Dark Alert" to send out instant alerts through Haredi neighborhoods and call out demonstrators to prevent arrests from taking place.

"We're a Jewish country," stated Shmuel Orbach. "One cannot oppose Judaism in a Jewish country. It doesn't work."

A World Separate

But the shifts sweeping across Israel have failed to penetrate the confines of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in a Haredi stronghold, an Haredi enclave on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, young students sit in pairs to analyze the Torah, their vividly colored 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 engaged in learning," the head of the academy, a senior rabbi, explained. "Via dedicated learning, we protect the soldiers in the field. This is our army."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that unceasing devotion and spiritual pursuit defend Israel's military, and are as vital to its military success as its tanks and air force. This conviction was accepted by the nation's leaders in the previous eras, he said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Growing Popular Demand

The ultra-Orthodox population has grown substantially its percentage of Israel's population over the last seventy years, and now represents around one in seven. An exemption that started as an deferment for a few hundred Torah scholars turned into, by the start of the recent conflict, a body of some 60,000 men left out of the conscription.

Polling data suggest support for ending the exemption is growing. A poll in July found that a large majority of non-Haredi Jews - even a significant majority in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - supported sanctions for those who ignored a call-up notice, with a solid consensus in favor of withdrawing benefits, the right to travel, or the electoral participation.

"It makes me feel there are individuals who are part of this country without serving," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv commented.

"It is my belief, regardless of piety, [it] should be an excuse not to perform service your nation," added Gabby. "As a citizen by birth, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to opt out just to study Torah all day."

Voices from Within Bnei Brak

Support for ending the exemption is also found among observant Jews beyond the Haredi community, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who is a neighbor of the seminary and notes religious Zionists who do enlist in the army while also maintaining their faith.

"It makes me angry that this community don't serve in the army," she said. "It is unjust. I also believe in the Jewish law, but there's a teaching in Hebrew - 'The Book and the Sword' – it means the scripture and the weapons together. That is the path, until the messianic era."

She runs a small memorial in her city to soldiers from the area, both religious and secular, who were lost in conflict. Long columns of images {