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An impending crisis over conscripting Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces is threatening to undermine the administration and dividing the state.

The public mood on the matter has shifted dramatically in Israel after two years of conflict, and this is now perhaps the most volatile political challenge facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Struggle

Politicians are now debating a proposal to abolish the special status given to yeshiva scholars enrolled in Torah study, established when the State of Israel was established in 1948.

The deferment was ruled illegal by the nation's top court almost 20 years ago. Temporary arrangements to continue it were finally concluded by the judiciary last year, compelling the cabinet to begin drafting the Haredi sector.

Approximately 24,000 call-up papers were sent out last year, but merely about 1,200 men from the community enlisted, according to army data shared with lawmakers.

Strains Spill Into Violence

Strains are boiling over onto the streets, with elected officials now deliberating a new draft bill to require Haredi males into national service in the same way as other Jewish citizens.

Two Haredi politicians were targeted this month by hardline activists, who are enraged with the legislative debate of the draft legislation.

Recently, a special Border Police unit had to rescue enforcement personnel who were attacked by a large crowd of community members as they attempted to detain a suspected draft-evader.

These arrests have sparked the creation of a new communication network dubbed "Dark Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through the religious sector and call out activists to stop detentions from happening.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," said one protester. "You can't fight against religious practice in a Jewish state. It is a contradiction."

A Realm Set Aside

However the transformations sweeping across Israel have failed to penetrate the environment of the Torah academy in a Haredi stronghold, an ultra-Orthodox city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, teenage boys sit in pairs to debate the Torah, their brightly coloured writing books popping against the lines of light-colored shirts and head coverings.

"Come at one in the morning, and you will see a significant portion are engaged in learning," the head of the yeshiva, the spiritual guide, noted. "Through religious study, we protect the troops in the field. This is our army."

The community holds that constant study and religious study protect Israel's armed forces, and are as crucial to its security as its tanks and air force. That belief was endorsed by previous governments in the previous eras, the rabbi said, but he acknowledged that public attitudes are shifting.

Increasing Popular Demand

The Haredi community has more than doubled its share of Israel's population over the past seven decades, and now constitutes a sizable minority. What began as an deferment for a small number of Torah scholars evolved into, by the start of the Gaza war, a group of tens of thousands of men not subject to the conscription.

Surveys indicate approval of ending the exemption is rising. Research in July found that a large majority of the broader Jewish public - encompassing a significant majority in the Prime Minister's political base - favored penalties for those who declined a draft order, with a firm majority in approving cutting state subsidies, passports, or the right to vote.

"It makes me feel there are citizens who live in this nation without contributing," one serviceman in Tel Aviv commented.

"In my view, no matter how devout, [it] should be an justification not to perform service your state," added a Tel Aviv resident. "If you're born here, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to avoid service just to engage in religious study all day."

Views from Within the Community

Support for broadening conscription is also coming from traditional Jews outside the ultra-Orthodox sector, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the yeshiva and notes religious Zionists who do enlist in the army while also maintaining their faith.

"It makes me angry that the Haredim don't perform military service," she said. "This creates inequality. I am also committed to the Torah, but there's a saying in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it represents the scripture and the guns together. That is the path, until the days of peace."

She maintains a small memorial in her city to soldiers from the area, both from all backgrounds, who were lost in conflict. Long columns of faces {