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An impending political storm over enlisting Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces is posing a risk to the administration and fracturing the nation.

The public mood on the issue has shifted dramatically in Israel following two years of hostilities, and this is now possibly the most divisive political challenge facing the Prime Minister.

The Constitutional Struggle

Legislators are currently considering a draft bill to abolish the exemption granted to ultra-Orthodox men enrolled in full-time religious study, established when the State of Israel was established in 1948.

This arrangement was declared unconstitutional by the nation's top court two decades ago. Temporary arrangements to continue it were finally concluded by the court last year, forcing the government to start enlisting the community.

Some 24,000 enlistment orders were issued last year, but just approximately 1,200 men from the community showed up, according to military testimony presented to lawmakers.

Tensions Erupt Into Public View

Strains are boiling over onto the streets, with elected officials now discussing a new draft bill to require Haredi males into army duty together with other secular Israelis.

Two Haredi politicians were confronted this month by hardline activists, who are furious with the Knesset's deliberations of the draft legislation.

Recently, a elite police squad had to assist enforcement personnel who were surrounded by a sizeable mob of Haredi men as they sought to apprehend a man avoiding service.

These arrests have prompted the establishment of a new alert system called "Emergency Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and call out protesters to prevent arrests from taking place.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," remarked one protester. "It's impossible to battle religious practice in a Jewish state. It doesn't work."

A Realm Apart

But the shifts sweeping across Israel have not yet breached the walls of the Torah academy in a Haredi stronghold, an Haredi enclave on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, teenage boys sit in pairs to discuss the Torah, their distinctive school notebooks standing out against the lines of light-colored shirts and small black kippahs.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see many of the students are pursuing religious study," the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, said. "Via dedicated learning, we protect the soldiers in the field. This is how we contribute."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that continuous prayer and Torah learning defend Israel's armed forces, and are as essential to its security as its tanks and air force. This conviction was accepted by Israel's politicians in the previous eras, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he admitted that the nation is evolving.

Increasing Societal Anger

This religious sector has more than doubled its percentage of the nation's citizens over the since the state's founding, and now accounts for 14%. What began as an exception for several hundred Torah scholars turned into, by the onset of the recent conflict, a group of tens of thousands of men exempt from the national service.

Polling data suggest backing for ending the exemption is growing. Research in July revealed that 85% of secular and traditional Jews - even a significant majority in Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud party - supported consequences for those who refused a enlistment summons, with a clear majority in favor of removing privileges, passports, or the right to vote.

"I feel there are people who are part of this nation without giving anything back," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv explained.

"In my view, however religious you are, [it] should be an justification not to perform service your nation," said Gabby. "As a citizen by birth, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to avoid service just to engage in religious study all day."

Voices from Within Bnei Brak

Backing for broadening conscription is also found among religious Jews outside the ultra-Orthodox sector, like Dorit Barak, who resides close to the yeshiva and points to religious Zionists who do enlist in the army while also engaging in religious study.

"It makes me angry that ultra-Orthodox people don't serve in the army," she said. "It's unfair. I too follow the Torah, but there's a teaching in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the scripture and the guns together. That is the path, until the messianic era."

She maintains a modest remembrance site in her city to soldiers from the area, both religious and secular, who were lost in conflict. Rows of photographs {