🔗 Share this article

A gathering political storm over enlisting Haredi men into the military is posing a risk to Israel's government and splitting the state.

Popular sentiment on the matter has shifted dramatically in Israel following two years of war, and this is now perhaps the most divisive political risk facing the Prime Minister.

The Constitutional Battle

Lawmakers are currently considering a piece of legislation to end the special status awarded to Haredi students dedicated to Torah study, established when the modern Israel was established in 1948.

That exemption was ruled illegal by Israel's High Court of Justice almost 20 years ago. Stopgap solutions to maintain it were officially terminated by the judiciary last year, pressuring the government to commence conscription of the ultra-Orthodox population.

Approximately 24,000 call-up papers were delivered last year, but just approximately 1,200 Haredi conscripts showed up, according to military testimony shared with lawmakers.

Tensions Erupt Into Violence

Strains are boiling over onto the city centers, with elected officials now deliberating a new conscription law to require Haredi males into military service in the same way as other Israeli Jews.

Two representatives were harassed this month by hardline activists, who are furious with the legislative debate of the proposed law.

And last week, a specialized force had to assist army police who were targeted by a large crowd of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they tried to arrest a suspected draft-evader.

These arrests have prompted the establishment of a new communication network dubbed "Emergency Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and call out activists to block enforcement from taking place.

"This is a Jewish state," said an activist. "One cannot oppose the Jewish faith in a Jewish state. It doesn't work."

A Realm Separate

However the changes affecting Israel have not yet breached the environment of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in an ultra-Orthodox city, an ultra-Orthodox city on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, young students sit in pairs to discuss Jewish law, their brightly coloured writing books contrasting with the seats of white shirts and head coverings.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see a significant portion are pursuing religious study," the dean of the academy, a senior rabbi, explained. "By studying Torah, we safeguard the troops on the front lines. This is how we contribute."

The community holds that unceasing devotion and spiritual pursuit defend 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 past, the rabbi said, but he admitted that the nation is evolving.

Rising Societal Anger

The ultra-Orthodox population has grown substantially its proportion of Israel's population over the since the state's founding, and now accounts for around one in seven. An exemption that started as an deferment for a few hundred yeshiva attendees became, by the start of the Gaza war, a cohort of tens of thousands of men exempt from the national service.

Surveys indicate approval of ending the exemption is growing. A poll in July showed that a large majority of the broader Jewish public - even almost three-quarters in his own coalition allies - favored consequences for those who refused a enlistment summons, with a solid consensus in supporting cutting state subsidies, the right to travel, or the franchise.

"It makes me feel there are people who live in this country without serving," one military member in Tel Aviv explained.

"In my view, regardless of piety, [it] should be an justification not to fulfill your duty to your country," said a Tel Aviv resident. "Being a native, I find it rather absurd that you want to opt out just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Perspectives from Inside a Religious City

Backing for broadening conscription is also expressed by religious Jews not part of the Haredi community, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the academy and highlights religious Zionists who do perform national service while also maintaining their faith.

"I'm very angry that this community don't serve in the army," she said. "This creates inequality. I also believe in the Torah, but there's a saying in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it represents the scripture and the guns together. That's the way forward, until the messianic era."

Ms Barak maintains a small memorial in Bnei Brak to soldiers from the area, both observant and non-observant, who were killed in battle. Lines of images {