🔗 Share this article

An impending political storm over enlisting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli army is threatening to undermine Israel's government and dividing the nation.

Popular sentiment on the question has shifted dramatically in Israel following two years of conflict, and this is now possibly the most volatile political challenge facing the Prime Minister.

The Legal Battle

Politicians are currently considering a piece of legislation to abolish the deferment granted to ultra-Orthodox men enrolled in full-time religious study, established when the State of Israel was declared in 1948.

This arrangement was struck down by the nation's top court almost 20 years ago. Stopgap solutions to maintain it were finally concluded by the bench last year, compelling the government to begin drafting the community.

Some 24,000 call-up papers were delivered last year, but just approximately 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees showed up, according to military testimony given to lawmakers.

Strains Spill Onto the Streets

Tensions are erupting onto the streets, with elected officials now deliberating a new legislative proposal to compel yeshiva students into army duty in the same way as other Israeli Jews.

Two Haredi politicians were harassed this month by some extreme ultra-Orthodox protesters, who are incensed with parliament's discussion of the proposed law.

And last week, a specialized force had to rescue enforcement personnel who were targeted by a big group of community members as they attempted to detain a man avoiding service.

Such incidents have sparked the creation of a new communication network called "Emergency Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and mobilize activists to prevent arrests from happening.

"This is a Jewish state," said one protester. "It's impossible to battle religious practice in a Jewish country. It is a contradiction."

An Environment Set Aside

However the shifts affecting Israel have not reached the walls of the religious seminary in a Haredi stronghold, an ultra-Orthodox city on the edge of Tel Aviv.

Within the study hall, scholars sit in pairs to analyze Jewish law, their vividly colored notepads popping against the rows of light-colored shirts and traditional skullcaps.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see half the guys are engaged in learning," the head of the academy, Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, explained. "Through religious study, we shield the military personnel in the field. This constitutes our service."

Haredi Jews maintain that constant study and spiritual pursuit protect Israel's soldiers, and are as crucial to its military success as its advanced weaponry. That belief was acknowledged by the nation's leaders in the earlier decades, Rabbi Mazuz said, but he acknowledged that Israel was changing.

Rising Public Pressure

This religious sector has more than doubled its proportion of the country's people over the last seventy years, and now accounts for around one in seven. A policy that originated as an deferment for several hundred Torah scholars turned into, by the start of the Gaza war, a group of approximately 60,000 men left out of the draft.

Surveys indicate backing for ultra-Orthodox conscription is rising. A poll in July found that a large majority of non-Haredi Jews - encompassing almost three-quarters in his own coalition allies - supported sanctions for those who ignored a call-up notice, with a clear majority in favor of withdrawing benefits, travel documents, or the franchise.

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

"It is my belief, no matter how devout, [it] should be an reason not to go and serve your country," stated a young woman. "As a citizen by birth, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to avoid service just to learn in a yeshiva all day."

Perspectives from Inside Bnei Brak

Advocacy of broadening conscription is also coming from traditional Jews outside the Haredi community, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the yeshiva and points to non-Haredi religious Jews who do perform national service while also studying Torah.

"It makes me angry that ultra-Orthodox people don't serve in the army," she said. "It's unfair. I also believe in the Jewish law, but there's a saying in Hebrew - 'Safra and Saifa' – it means the Torah and the defense together. That is the path, until the days of peace."

The resident manages a small memorial in her city to fallen servicemen, both observant and non-observant, who were killed in battle. Long columns of photographs {