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An impending crisis over conscripting Haredi men into the military is threatening to undermine Israel's government and splitting the nation.

The public mood on the question has changed profoundly in Israel in the wake of two years of hostilities, and this is now perhaps the most volatile political challenge facing the Prime Minister.

The Judicial Conflict

Lawmakers are now debating a piece of legislation to terminate the deferment given to yeshiva scholars dedicated to full-time religious study, instituted when the State of Israel was founded in 1948.

This arrangement was ruled illegal by Israel's High Court of Justice in the early 2000s. Temporary arrangements to extend it were finally concluded by the bench last year, pressuring the government to start enlisting the community.

Roughly 24,000 enlistment orders were delivered last year, but merely about 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees reported for duty, according to army data presented to lawmakers.

Friction Spill Into Violence

Strains are boiling over onto the city centers, with elected officials now deliberating a new draft bill to force yeshiva students into army duty in the same way as other Jewish citizens.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were confronted this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are enraged with parliament's discussion of the bill.

Recently, a specialized force had to rescue Military Police officers who were attacked by a large crowd of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they attempted to detain a suspected draft-evader.

These enforcement actions have led to the development of a new messaging system dubbed "Emergency Alert" to send out instant alerts through ultra-Orthodox communities and mobilize demonstrators to prevent arrests from occurring.

"We're a Jewish country," stated an activist. "It's impossible to battle the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. That is untenable."

A Realm Set Aside

However the changes blowing through Israel have not reached the environment of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in an ultra-Orthodox city, an ultra-Orthodox city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, young students learn in partnerships to analyze Jewish law, their distinctive notepads popping against the seats of formal attire and small black kippahs.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see a significant portion are studying Torah," the head of the seminary, the spiritual guide, explained. "Through religious study, we safeguard the troops in the field. This is our army."

Haredi Jews maintain that continuous prayer and religious study protect Israel's military, and are as crucial to its military success as its advanced weaponry. This conviction was accepted by Israel's politicians in the previous eras, the rabbi said, but he conceded that public attitudes are shifting.

Rising Societal Anger

The ultra-Orthodox population has significantly increased its share of Israel's population over the last seventy years, and now constitutes 14%. A policy that originated as an exemption for a small number of Torah scholars became, by the beginning of the recent conflict, a body of tens of thousands of men left out of the conscription.

Opinion polls suggest support for ultra-Orthodox conscription is rising. Research in July revealed that a large majority of non-Haredi Jews - encompassing a significant majority in the Prime Minister's political base - favored penalties for those who refused a enlistment summons, with a firm majority in favor of withdrawing benefits, travel documents, or the franchise.

"I feel there are citizens who are part of this nation without serving," one military member in Tel Aviv commented.

"It is my belief, no matter how devout, [it] should be an justification not to go and serve your state," said Gabby. "If you're born here, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to avoid service just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Views from Within Bnei Brak

Backing for ending the exemption is also found among traditional Jews not part of the ultra-Orthodox sector, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the yeshiva and notes observant but non-Haredi Jews who do serve in the military while also engaging in religious study.

"I'm very angry that ultra-Orthodox people don't enlist," she said. "This creates inequality. I too follow the Torah, but there's a saying in Jewish tradition - 'The Book and the Sword' – it means the scripture and the guns together. That is the path, until the messianic era."

She maintains a small memorial in the neighborhood to fallen servicemen, both from all backgrounds, who were lost in conflict. Rows of photographs {