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An impending political storm over conscripting Haredi men into the Israeli army is jeopardizing the governing coalition and dividing the country.

The public mood on the question has undergone a sea change in Israel in the wake of two years of hostilities, and this is now arguably the most volatile political risk facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Conflict

Lawmakers are currently considering a draft bill to terminate the special status awarded to yeshiva scholars engaged in Torah study, created when the State of Israel was declared in 1948.

The deferment was struck down by the nation's top court two decades ago. Interim measures to maintain it were formally ended by the judiciary last year, forcing the administration to start enlisting the community.

Roughly 24,000 call-up papers were delivered last year, but just approximately 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees enlisted, according to military testimony given to lawmakers.

Strains Erupt Into Public View

Friction is spilling onto the city centers, with elected officials now discussing a new conscription law to require yeshiva students into army duty alongside other Jewish citizens.

Two Haredi politicians were targeted this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are incensed with the legislative debate of the bill.

Recently, a specialized force had to extract army police who were attacked by a sizeable mob of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they attempted to detain a alleged conscription dodger.

These arrests have led to the development of a new communication network dubbed "Black Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through Haredi neighborhoods and mobilize protesters to stop detentions from taking place.

"This is a Jewish state," stated one protester. "You can't fight against the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It doesn't work."

A Realm Separate

Yet the shifts affecting Israel have not yet breached the confines of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in an ultra-Orthodox city, an religious community on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, scholars study together to discuss the Torah, their distinctive writing books contrasting with the lines of formal attire and small black kippahs.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see half the guys are pursuing religious study," the dean of the seminary, the spiritual guide, explained. "By studying Torah, we safeguard the soldiers in the field. This is our army."

The community holds that continuous prayer and religious study protect Israel's military, and are as crucial to its defense as its tanks and air force. That belief was endorsed by the nation's leaders in the past, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Increasing Public Pressure

The Haredi community has grown substantially its proportion of Israel's population over the since the state's founding, and now represents a sizable minority. An exemption that started as an exception for a few hundred yeshiva attendees became, by the beginning of the recent conflict, a body of tens of thousands of men exempt from the conscription.

Surveys show approval of ending the exemption is growing. A poll in July found that a large majority of non-Haredi Jews - including a large segment in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - favored penalties for those who refused a call-up notice, with a clear majority in favor of removing privileges, the right to travel, or the franchise.

"I feel there are people who reside in this nation without contributing," one military member in Tel Aviv commented.

"I don't think, regardless of piety, [it] should be an excuse not to perform service your nation," said a young woman. "As a citizen by birth, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to avoid service just to engage in religious study all day."

Perspectives from Inside a Religious City

Backing for extending the draft is also coming from observant Jews beyond the Haredi community, like one local resident, who is a neighbor of the yeshiva and notes observant but non-Haredi Jews who do serve in the military while also maintaining their faith.

"I'm very angry that this community don't perform military service," she said. "This creates inequality. I also believe in the Torah, but there's a proverb in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it means the scripture and the defense together. This is the correct approach, until the messianic era."

The resident maintains a modest remembrance site in the neighborhood to soldiers from the area, both observant and non-observant, who were killed in battle. Rows of images {