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A gathering crisis over enlisting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli army is threatening to undermine Israel's government and fracturing the nation.

The public mood on the matter has undergone a sea change in Israel following two years of conflict, and this is now possibly the most volatile political risk facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Conflict

Lawmakers are currently considering a piece of legislation to terminate the exemption given to yeshiva scholars engaged in yeshiva learning, instituted when the modern Israel was founded in 1948.

That exemption was declared unconstitutional by Israel's High Court of Justice two decades ago. Temporary arrangements to continue it were officially terminated by the court last year, forcing the administration to start enlisting the Haredi sector.

Some 24,000 enlistment orders were delivered last year, but merely about 1,200 Haredi conscripts showed up, according to army data presented to lawmakers.

Strains Boil Over Into Public View

Strains are boiling over onto the streets, with parliamentarians now discussing a new draft bill to require yeshiva students into army duty together with other secular Israelis.

Two Haredi politicians were harassed this month by radical elements, who are enraged with parliament's discussion of the proposed law.

In a recent incident, a elite police squad had to rescue army police who were attacked by a big group of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they sought to apprehend a man avoiding service.

Such incidents have prompted the establishment of a new messaging system dubbed "Black Alert" to spread word quickly through the religious sector and mobilize protesters to stop detentions from taking place.

"We're a Jewish country," stated one protester. "One cannot oppose religious practice in a Jewish state. It is a contradiction."

A World Apart

But the transformations blowing through Israel have not reached the confines of the Torah academy in Bnei Brak, an religious community on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, scholars study together to discuss Judaism's religious laws, their brightly coloured school notebooks 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 yeshiva, a senior rabbi, noted. "Via dedicated learning, we shield the troops in the field. This constitutes our service."

The community holds that constant study and Torah learning guard Israel's soldiers, and are as essential to its military success as its tanks and air force. This tenet was acknowledged by the nation's leaders in the past, he said, but he conceded that public attitudes are shifting.

Growing Popular Demand

The Haredi community has grown substantially its share of the nation's citizens over the last seventy years, and now represents a sizable minority. What began as an deferment for a small number of yeshiva attendees evolved into, by the onset of the Gaza war, a group of approximately 60,000 men exempt from the conscription.

Opinion polls show backing for drafting the Haredim is increasing. A survey in July revealed that a large majority of secular and traditional Jews - even almost three-quarters in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - supported penalties for those who refused a enlistment summons, with a solid consensus in favor of removing privileges, passports, or the electoral participation.

"I feel there are individuals who live in this nation without giving anything back," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv commented.

"It is my belief, however religious you are, [it] should be an justification not to perform service your state," added Gabby. "As a citizen by birth, I find it rather absurd that you want to avoid service just to engage in religious study all day."

Voices from the Heart of a Religious City

Support for ending the exemption is also found among observant Jews outside the ultra-Orthodox sector, like one local resident, who resides close to the seminary and points to observant but non-Haredi Jews who do enlist in the army while also maintaining their faith.

"I'm very angry that the Haredim don't perform military service," she said. "This creates inequality. I too follow the Jewish law, but there's a proverb in Hebrew - 'The Book and the Sword' – it represents the scripture and the defense together. That's the way forward, until the messianic era."

The resident maintains a local tribute in the neighborhood to soldiers from the area, both observant and non-observant, who were fallen in war. Long columns of images {