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A looming political storm over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israel Defense Forces is posing a risk to Israel's government and fracturing the state.

Public opinion on the issue has changed profoundly in Israel in the wake of two years of hostilities, and this is now arguably the most explosive political risk facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Judicial Conflict

Lawmakers are reviewing a piece of legislation to terminate the deferment given to ultra-Orthodox men dedicated to yeshiva learning, instituted when the modern Israel was founded in 1948.

The deferment was declared unconstitutional by Israel's High Court of Justice almost 20 years ago. Interim measures to continue it were finally concluded by the court last year, pressuring the cabinet to commence conscription of the Haredi sector.

Approximately 24,000 enlistment orders were delivered last year, but just approximately 1,200 Haredi conscripts enlisted, according to army data presented to lawmakers.

Friction Boil Over Onto the Streets

Tensions are erupting onto the streets, with parliamentarians now debating a new conscription law to force ultra-Orthodox men into national service alongside other secular Israelis.

Two representatives were targeted this month by hardline activists, who are enraged with parliament's discussion of the bill.

And last week, a special Border Police unit had to extract enforcement personnel who were attacked by a large crowd of Haredi men as they attempted to detain a suspected draft-evader.

These arrests have led to the development of a new alert system dubbed "Emergency Alert" to send out instant alerts through Haredi neighborhoods and summon demonstrators to block enforcement from taking place.

"This is a Jewish state," stated an activist. "You can't fight against Judaism in a Jewish state. That is untenable."

A Realm Apart

Yet the shifts blowing through Israel have failed to penetrate the walls of the Torah academy in Bnei Brak, an religious community on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, young students learn in partnerships to analyze Judaism's religious laws, their brightly coloured writing books standing out against the rows of formal attire and small black kippahs.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see a significant portion are pursuing religious study," the dean of the yeshiva, the spiritual guide, said. "Via dedicated learning, we shield the military personnel on the front lines. This is our army."

The community holds that unceasing devotion and religious study guard Israel's soldiers, and are as vital to its defense as its tanks and air force. That belief was endorsed by previous governments in the previous eras, the rabbi said, but he acknowledged that the nation is evolving.

Rising Popular Demand

The ultra-Orthodox population has grown substantially its proportion of the nation's citizens over the past seven decades, and now represents a sizable minority. A policy that originated as an deferment for a small number of Torah scholars turned into, by the start of the recent conflict, a cohort of some 60,000 men not subject to the national service.

Polling data suggest support for ending the exemption is increasing. A poll in July found that an overwhelming percentage of secular and traditional Jews - including a large segment in his own coalition allies - supported penalties for those who declined a enlistment summons, with a firm majority in supporting cutting state subsidies, passports, or the electoral participation.

"It seems to me there are people who live in this nation without giving anything back," one military member in Tel Aviv explained.

"In my view, regardless of piety, [it] should be an reason not to fulfill your duty to your state," added a Tel Aviv resident. "If you're born here, I find it rather absurd that you want to avoid service just to study Torah all day."

Voices from the Heart of the Community

Backing for extending the draft is also expressed by observant Jews outside the Haredi community, like one local resident, who is a neighbor of the yeshiva and highlights religious Zionists who do perform national service while also maintaining their faith.

"I am frustrated that this community don't serve in the army," she said. "It's unfair. I too follow the Torah, but there's a teaching in Jewish tradition - 'The Book and the Sword' – it means the scripture and the defense together. That is the path, until the messianic era."

She manages a local tribute in her city to soldiers from the area, both religious and secular, who were lost in conflict. Rows of photographs {