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An impending political storm over conscripting Haredi men into the Israeli army is threatening to undermine the governing coalition and dividing the country.

Public opinion on the question has shifted dramatically in Israel following two years of conflict, and this is now arguably the most divisive political risk facing Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Legal Struggle

Legislators are now debating a proposal to terminate the special status given to Haredi students engaged in full-time religious study, established when the the nation was established in 1948.

That exemption was struck down by the nation's top court two decades ago. Stopgap solutions to extend it were officially terminated by the court last year, pressuring the government to start enlisting the ultra-Orthodox population.

Approximately 24,000 enlistment orders were sent out last year, but merely about 1,200 ultra-Orthodox - or Haredi - draftees showed up, according to army data given to lawmakers.

Tensions Erupt Into Public View

Strains are boiling over onto the streets, with parliamentarians now discussing a new conscription law to force yeshiva students into army duty alongside other Jewish citizens.

Two representatives were harassed this month by hardline activists, who are incensed with parliament's discussion of the proposed law.

Recently, a elite police squad had to extract enforcement personnel who were surrounded by a large crowd of community members as they tried to arrest a alleged conscription dodger.

These arrests have sparked the creation of a new communication network named "Black Alert" to send out instant alerts through the religious sector and call out demonstrators to stop detentions from occurring.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," said Shmuel Orbach. "One cannot oppose the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It is a contradiction."

A World Separate

However the changes blowing through Israel have not reached the confines of the Torah academy in Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox city on the edge of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, young students study together to debate Judaism's religious laws, their vividly colored notepads standing out against the rows of white shirts and small black kippahs.

"Visit in the early hours, and you will see half the guys are studying Torah," the dean of the seminary, the spiritual guide, said. "Via dedicated learning, we safeguard the military personnel on the front lines. This is how we contribute."

Ultra-Orthodox believe that constant study and Torah learning defend Israel's soldiers, and are as essential to its security as its conventional forces. This tenet was accepted by the nation's leaders in the previous eras, the rabbi said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Rising Public Pressure

The ultra-Orthodox population has significantly increased its share of the country's people over the past seven decades, and now constitutes a sizable minority. What began as an exception for a few hundred religious students evolved into, by the start of the recent conflict, a body of some 60,000 men exempt from the conscription.

Surveys show backing for drafting the Haredim is growing. A survey in July revealed that a large majority of non-Haredi Jews - including a large segment in the Prime Minister's political base - backed penalties for those who declined a call-up notice, with a solid consensus in favor of withdrawing benefits, travel documents, or the franchise.

"I feel there are citizens who live in this country without serving," one off-duty soldier in Tel Aviv said.

"I don't think, no matter how devout, [it] should be an justification not to go and serve your nation," added a Tel Aviv resident. "If you're born here, I find it somewhat unreasonable that you want to avoid service just to study Torah all day."

Views from Inside the Community

Support for broadening conscription is also expressed by religious Jews beyond the Haredi community, like one local resident, who lives near the seminary and points to non-Haredi religious Jews who do serve in the military while also engaging in religious study.

"I am frustrated that the Haredim don't perform military service," she said. "It's unfair. I am also committed to the Jewish law, but there's a teaching in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the Torah and the guns together. That's the way forward, until the arrival of peace."

She runs a modest remembrance site in the neighborhood to local soldiers, both observant and non-observant, who were fallen in war. Rows of faces {