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A looming crisis over conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israel Defense Forces is jeopardizing Israel's government and fracturing the nation.

Popular sentiment on the question has shifted dramatically in Israel in the wake of two years of war, and this is now arguably the most volatile political issue facing the Prime Minister.

The Judicial Conflict

Lawmakers are reviewing a proposal to terminate the deferment granted to Haredi students enrolled in full-time religious study, created when the modern Israel was established in 1948.

This arrangement was ruled illegal by the nation's top court almost 20 years ago. Stopgap solutions to maintain it were officially terminated by the judiciary last year, compelling the administration to begin drafting the community.

Roughly 24,000 call-up papers were delivered last year, but merely about 1,200 men from the community reported for duty, according to defense officials presented to lawmakers.

Strains Erupt Into Violence

Tensions are erupting onto the city centers, with elected officials now discussing a new draft bill to force ultra-Orthodox men into national service in the same way as other Israeli Jews.

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

And last week, a specialized force had to assist army police who were surrounded by a large crowd of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they attempted to detain a man avoiding service.

Such incidents have sparked the creation of a new messaging system called "Dark Alert" to spread word quickly through ultra-Orthodox communities and summon activists to block enforcement from taking place.

"This is a Jewish state," remarked Shmuel Orbach. "You can't fight against the Jewish faith in a Jewish state. It is a contradiction."

An Environment Apart

Yet the shifts sweeping across Israel have not reached the confines of the religious seminary in a Haredi stronghold, an religious community on the fringes of Tel Aviv.

Inside the classroom, young students study together to discuss Judaism's religious laws, their brightly coloured school notebooks contrasting with the lines of formal attire and traditional skullcaps.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see a significant portion are pursuing religious study," the dean of the seminary, the spiritual guide, explained. "Via dedicated learning, we protect the soldiers in the field. This is our army."

Haredi Jews maintain that continuous prayer and religious study defend Israel's armed forces, and are as essential to its military success as its advanced weaponry. This tenet was accepted by previous governments in the previous eras, he said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Increasing Popular Demand

The ultra-Orthodox population has significantly increased its percentage of the nation's citizens over the past seven decades, and now represents 14%. An exemption that started as an deferment for a few hundred religious students turned into, by the start of the recent conflict, a group of tens of thousands of men exempt from the national service.

Opinion polls indicate approval of drafting the Haredim is rising. A survey in July showed that 85% of secular and traditional Jews - including a significant majority in the Prime Minister's political base - backed sanctions for those who refused a call-up notice, with a firm majority in supporting removing privileges, the right to travel, or the right to vote.

"It makes me feel there are people who are part of this nation without contributing," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv said.

"It is my belief, regardless of piety, [it] should be an reason not to go and serve your nation," stated a young woman. "As a citizen by birth, I find it rather absurd that you want to opt out just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Perspectives from Within Bnei Brak

Support for extending the draft is also found among traditional Jews not part of the ultra-Orthodox sector, like one local resident, who resides close to the seminary and highlights non-Haredi religious Jews who do perform national service while also engaging in religious study.

"I am frustrated that this community don't enlist," she said. "It's unfair. I also believe in the Torah, but there's a proverb in Jewish tradition - 'The Book and the Sword' – it means the Torah and the guns together. That is the path, until the arrival of peace."

Ms Barak maintains a local tribute in her city to fallen servicemen, both observant and non-observant, who were killed in battle. Rows of photographs {