A Major Crisis Threatens in Israel Regarding Ultra-Orthodox Military Draft Proposal

A gathering crisis over conscripting Haredi men into the Israeli army is posing a risk to Israel's government and fracturing the nation.

Public opinion on the issue has undergone a sea change in Israel following two years of war, and this is now possibly the most volatile political risk facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Legal Battle

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

This arrangement was declared unconstitutional by the nation's top court almost 20 years ago. Temporary arrangements to maintain it were finally concluded by the judiciary last year, compelling the government to start enlisting the community.

Some 24,000 enlistment orders were sent out last year, but just approximately 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees showed up, according to military testimony shared with lawmakers.

Friction Boil Over Into Public View

Tensions are erupting onto the public squares, with lawmakers now deliberating a new legislative proposal to require Haredi males into military service in the same way as other Jewish citizens.

Two Haredi politicians were targeted this month by radical elements, who are incensed with the Knesset's deliberations of the proposed law.

In a recent incident, a specialized force had to extract army police who were targeted by a large crowd of Haredi men as they sought to apprehend a man avoiding service.

These enforcement actions have prompted the establishment of a new messaging system named "Dark Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and mobilize activists to prevent arrests from occurring.

"We're a Jewish country," said one protester. "You can't fight against religious practice in a Jewish state. That is untenable."

A Realm Separate

But the changes blowing through Israel have not yet breached the walls of the religious seminary in an ultra-Orthodox city, an religious community on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, young students sit in pairs to analyze the Torah, their vividly colored writing books standing out against the seats of formal attire and traditional skullcaps.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see a significant portion are engaged in learning," the head of the academy, the spiritual guide, noted. "Through religious study, we safeguard the soldiers in the field. This is how we contribute."

The community holds that constant study and spiritual pursuit guard Israel's armed forces, and are as crucial to its military success as its advanced weaponry. This conviction was endorsed by previous governments in the previous eras, he said, but he conceded that the nation is evolving.

Increasing Public Pressure

The Haredi community has significantly increased its percentage of the country's people over the last seventy years, and now accounts for around one in seven. A policy that originated as an exemption for several hundred Torah scholars became, by the start of the recent conflict, a group of approximately 60,000 men exempt from the national service.

Opinion polls suggest backing for ending the exemption is rising. A survey in July revealed that an overwhelming percentage of secular and traditional Jews - even a significant majority in his own coalition allies - supported consequences for those who refused a call-up notice, with a solid consensus in supporting cutting state subsidies, passports, or the franchise.

"It seems to me there are citizens who live in this country without serving," one military member in Tel Aviv said.

"It is my belief, regardless of piety, [it] should be an justification not to go and serve your nation," said a Tel Aviv resident. "If you're born here, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to opt out just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Views from the Heart of Bnei Brak

Support for extending the draft is also found among observant Jews outside the ultra-Orthodox sector, like one local resident, who is a neighbor of the academy and points to religious Zionists who do perform national service while also studying Torah.

"It makes me angry that this community don't serve in the army," she said. "It is unjust. I too follow the Torah, but there's a teaching in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it represents the scripture and the weapons 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. Rows of faces {