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An impending political storm over conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military is threatening to undermine Israel's government and splitting the nation.

Popular sentiment on the matter has undergone a sea change in Israel after two years of hostilities, and this is now perhaps the most divisive political risk facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Legal Struggle

Legislators are reviewing a piece of legislation to abolish the deferment given to Haredi students dedicated to yeshiva learning, created when the modern Israel was declared in 1948.

The deferment was struck down by the Supreme Court almost 20 years ago. Temporary arrangements to extend it were formally ended by the judiciary last year, compelling the cabinet to start enlisting the ultra-Orthodox population.

Some 24,000 enlistment orders were delivered last year, but just approximately 1,200 men from the community reported for duty, according to army data given to lawmakers.

Tensions Boil Over Into Violence

Tensions are erupting onto the city centers, with lawmakers now discussing a new conscription law to compel yeshiva students into military service alongside other secular Israelis.

Two representatives were targeted this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are furious with parliament's discussion of the bill.

Recently, a special Border Police unit had to rescue enforcement personnel who were targeted by a big group of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they attempted to detain a suspected draft-evader.

These arrests have led to the development of a new messaging system named "Dark Alert" to spread word quickly through ultra-Orthodox communities and call out activists to block enforcement from occurring.

"We're a Jewish country," remarked one protester. "You can't fight against the Jewish faith in a Jewish country. It doesn't work."

An Environment Set Aside

Yet the transformations affecting Israel have not yet breached the environment of the religious seminary in a Haredi stronghold, an ultra-Orthodox city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, teenage boys learn in partnerships to discuss Jewish law, their brightly coloured school notebooks standing out against the rows of light-colored shirts and head coverings.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see half the guys are studying Torah," the dean of the academy, a senior rabbi, explained. "By studying Torah, we protect the military personnel wherever they are. This is our army."

The community holds that continuous prayer and religious study guard Israel's military, and are as vital to its military success as its tanks and air force. This tenet was endorsed by Israel's politicians in the previous eras, he said, but he conceded that the nation is evolving.

Increasing Public Pressure

The Haredi community has significantly increased its proportion of the nation's citizens over the since the state's founding, and now constitutes 14%. A policy that originated as an exception for several hundred religious students evolved into, by the beginning of the recent conflict, a body of approximately 60,000 men exempt from the draft.

Opinion polls indicate approval of ending the exemption is rising. Research in July revealed that a large majority of the broader Jewish public - including a large segment in his own coalition allies - backed sanctions for those who declined a draft order, with a firm majority in supporting cutting state subsidies, the right to travel, or the franchise.

"It makes me feel there are individuals who live in this country without giving anything back," one military member in Tel Aviv commented.

"In my view, however religious you are, [it] should be an excuse not to go and serve your country," said a Tel Aviv resident. "Being a native, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to exempt yourself just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Perspectives from Within Bnei Brak

Advocacy of ending the exemption is also found among observant Jews not part of the Haredi community, like one local resident, who lives near the yeshiva and highlights observant but non-Haredi Jews who do serve in the military while also maintaining their faith.

"I'm very angry that the Haredim don't serve in the army," she said. "It's unfair. I also believe in the Torah, but there's a proverb in Hebrew - 'The Book and the Sword' – it represents the Torah and the guns together. That is the path, until the days of peace."

Ms Barak manages a local tribute in the neighborhood to soldiers from the area, both observant and non-observant, who were fallen in war. Long columns of photographs {