🔗 Share this article

A looming political storm over enlisting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli army is posing a risk to Israel's government and splitting the nation.

Public opinion on the question has undergone a sea change in Israel after two years of conflict, and this is now possibly the most explosive political risk facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Constitutional Conflict

Lawmakers are currently considering a piece of legislation to terminate the deferment given to Haredi students engaged in full-time religious study, instituted when the the nation was founded in 1948.

That exemption was ruled illegal by the nation's top court almost 20 years ago. Temporary arrangements to maintain it were formally ended by the judiciary last year, pressuring the cabinet to start enlisting the Haredi sector.

Some 24,000 enlistment orders were sent out last year, but only around 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees reported for duty, according to military testimony shared with lawmakers.

Strains Erupt Onto the Streets

Tensions are erupting onto the streets, with parliamentarians now debating a new legislative proposal to require Haredi males into army duty in the same way as other secular Israelis.

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

Recently, a special Border Police unit had to extract army police who were surrounded by a large crowd of ultra-Orthodox protesters as they attempted to detain a suspected draft-evader.

Such incidents have led to the development of a new communication network named "Black Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and mobilize protesters to prevent arrests from taking place.

"We're a Jewish country," stated one protester. "You can't fight against Judaism in a Jewish state. That is untenable."

A World Set Aside

But the shifts blowing through Israel have not reached the walls of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in a Haredi stronghold, an Haredi enclave on the edge of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, scholars study together to discuss the Torah, their brightly coloured school notebooks standing out against the lines of white shirts and head coverings.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see many of the students are engaged in learning," the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, explained. "Via dedicated learning, we shield the military personnel wherever they are. This is our army."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that constant study and religious study protect Israel's armed forces, and are as crucial to its security as its tanks and air force. This tenet was accepted by Israel's politicians in the earlier decades, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he acknowledged that Israel was changing.

Increasing Popular Demand

The Haredi community has significantly increased its share of the nation's citizens over the last seventy years, and now constitutes around one in seven. An exemption that started as an exception for a few hundred religious students turned into, by the start of the recent conflict, a group of approximately 60,000 men not subject to the conscription.

Surveys show backing for ending the exemption is rising. A survey in July showed that 85% of the broader Jewish public - including almost three-quarters in the Prime Minister's political base - supported penalties for those who ignored a draft order, with a clear majority in approving cutting state subsidies, travel documents, or the right to vote.

"It makes me feel there are individuals who reside in this nation without contributing," one military member in Tel Aviv commented.

"In my view, however religious you are, [it] should be an excuse not to fulfill your duty to your country," added a young woman. "As a citizen by birth, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to opt out just to engage in religious study all day."

Voices from the Heart of the Community

Advocacy of broadening conscription is also coming from traditional Jews outside the ultra-Orthodox sector, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who lives near the academy and points to non-Haredi religious Jews who do serve in the military while also maintaining their faith.

"I'm very angry that this community don't perform military service," she said. "This creates inequality. I am also committed to the Torah, but there's a proverb in Jewish tradition - 'The Book and the Sword' – it represents the scripture and the weapons together. That's the way forward, until the days of peace."

The resident runs a local tribute in Bnei Brak to local soldiers, both observant and non-observant, who were fallen in war. Lines of faces {