A Major Crisis Approaches in Israel Concerning Ultra-Orthodox Conscription Bill

A gathering crisis over enlisting Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces is jeopardizing the governing coalition and fracturing the state.

Public opinion on the issue has changed profoundly in Israel after two years of conflict, and this is now perhaps the most explosive political challenge facing the Prime Minister.

The Judicial Battle

Legislators are currently considering a proposal to abolish the deferment granted to ultra-Orthodox men enrolled in Torah study, established when the modern Israel was established in 1948.

The deferment was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the early 2000s. Temporary arrangements to maintain it were finally concluded by the bench last year, pressuring the cabinet to commence conscription of the ultra-Orthodox population.

Some 24,000 enlistment orders were issued last year, but just approximately 1,200 men from the community enlisted, according to army data given to lawmakers.

Tensions Boil Over Onto the Streets

Friction is spilling onto the streets, with parliamentarians now discussing a new legislative proposal to compel ultra-Orthodox men into national service alongside other secular Israelis.

A pair of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were confronted this month by hardline activists, who are enraged with the legislative debate of the draft legislation.

In a recent incident, a special Border Police unit had to extract enforcement personnel who were surrounded by a sizeable mob of Haredi men as they tried to arrest a alleged conscription dodger.

These enforcement actions have prompted the establishment of a new messaging system called "Black Alert" to send out instant alerts through Haredi neighborhoods and mobilize protesters to prevent arrests from happening.

"Israel is a Jewish nation," stated an activist. "You can't fight against the Jewish faith in a nation founded on Jewish identity. It is a contradiction."

A Realm Set Aside

But the changes sweeping across Israel have failed to penetrate the environment of the religious seminary in a Haredi stronghold, an ultra-Orthodox city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

In the learning space, scholars learn in partnerships to discuss Jewish law, their brightly coloured notepads popping against the rows of white shirts and small black kippahs.

"Arrive late at night, and you will see half the guys are studying Torah," the dean of the seminary, the spiritual guide, noted. "Via dedicated learning, we shield the troops in the field. This constitutes our service."

Haredi Jews maintain that unceasing devotion and spiritual pursuit defend Israel's soldiers, and are as vital to its security as its advanced weaponry. This tenet was accepted by previous governments in the earlier decades, the rabbi said, but he conceded that Israel was changing.

Growing Popular Demand

The ultra-Orthodox population has significantly increased its percentage of Israel's population over the past seven decades, and now constitutes around one in seven. What began as an exception for a few hundred religious students became, by the beginning of the 2023 war, a body of tens of thousands of men not subject to the national service.

Surveys suggest approval of drafting the Haredim is growing. Research in July found that 85% of secular and traditional Jews - including almost three-quarters in his own coalition allies - backed penalties for those who declined a draft order, with a solid consensus in supporting removing privileges, passports, or the electoral participation.

"I feel there are people who are part of this nation without serving," one military member in Tel Aviv explained.

"I don't think, no matter how devout, [it] should be an justification not to go and serve your country," added a Tel Aviv resident. "As a citizen by birth, I find it quite ridiculous that you want to exempt yourself just to study Torah all day."

Perspectives from the Heart of a Religious City

Support for ending the exemption is also coming from traditional Jews not part of the Haredi community, like a Bnei Brak inhabitant, who resides close to the seminary and highlights observant but non-Haredi Jews who do perform national service while also engaging in religious study.

"I'm very angry that this community don't enlist," she said. "It's unfair. I also believe in the Torah, but there's a saying in Jewish tradition - 'Safra and Saifa' – it signifies the scripture and the guns together. That is the path, until the messianic era."

The resident manages a small memorial in the neighborhood to local soldiers, both observant and non-observant, who were fallen in war. Rows of images {