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A looming crisis over enlisting Haredi men into the military is threatening to undermine Israel's government and splitting the state.

The public mood on the question has undergone a sea change 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 Constitutional Struggle

Lawmakers are now debating a piece of legislation to terminate the deferment given to yeshiva scholars enrolled in Torah study, instituted when the State of Israel was founded in 1948.

The deferment was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court almost 20 years ago. Interim measures to extend it were finally concluded by the judiciary last year, compelling the government to commence conscription of the Haredi sector.

Roughly 24,000 draft notices were issued last year, but just approximately 1,200 Haredi conscripts enlisted, according to military testimony given to lawmakers.

Strains Boil Over Into Public View

Tensions are erupting onto the streets, with parliamentarians now discussing a new conscription law to force ultra-Orthodox men into army duty together with other Jewish citizens.

Two representatives were harassed this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are enraged with the legislative debate of the draft legislation.

In a recent incident, a specialized force had to rescue enforcement personnel who were surrounded by a big group of community members as they tried to arrest a suspected draft-evader.

These enforcement actions have sparked the creation of a new alert system named "Black Alert" to rapidly disseminate information through ultra-Orthodox communities and summon activists to prevent arrests from taking place.

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

A Realm Separate

However the changes sweeping across Israel have not yet breached the confines of the Torah academy in an ultra-Orthodox city, an Haredi enclave on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, teenage boys sit in pairs to analyze Judaism's religious laws, their distinctive school notebooks standing out against the rows of light-colored shirts and small black kippahs.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see many of the students are studying Torah," the head of the academy, Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, noted. "Via dedicated learning, we protect the military personnel in the field. This constitutes our service."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that unceasing devotion and spiritual pursuit guard Israel's armed forces, and are as essential to its military success as its advanced weaponry. This conviction was endorsed by the nation's leaders in the past, the rabbi said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Rising Societal Anger

The ultra-Orthodox population has more than doubled its percentage of the nation's citizens over the past seven decades, and now constitutes around one in seven. An exemption that started as an deferment for several hundred Torah scholars turned into, by the beginning of the recent conflict, a group of approximately 60,000 men not subject to the conscription.

Surveys indicate approval of drafting the Haredim is growing. A survey in July revealed that a large majority of the broader Jewish public - including a large segment in his own coalition allies - backed sanctions for those who declined a enlistment summons, with a solid consensus in approving removing privileges, travel documents, or the right to vote.

"I feel there are people who live in this country without giving anything back," one military member in Tel Aviv explained.

"It is my belief, no matter how devout, [it] should be an reason not to fulfill your duty to your state," added a Tel Aviv resident. "As a citizen by birth, I find it rather absurd that you want to exempt yourself just to study Torah all day."

Views from Inside Bnei Brak

Backing for extending the draft is also coming from traditional Jews not part of the Haredi community, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the seminary and points to religious Zionists who do perform national service while also maintaining their faith.

"It makes me angry that this community don't serve in the army," she said. "This creates inequality. I also believe in the Jewish law, but there's a teaching in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the scripture and the weapons together. That is the path, until the arrival of peace."

Ms Barak manages a small memorial in Bnei Brak to local soldiers, both observant and non-observant, who were fallen in war. Long columns of photographs {