By: Ariella Haviv

The front page of Thursday’s edition of the influential haredi daily Yated Ne’eman bore a stark and chilling single-word headline: “War.” Beneath this banner declaration lies a deepening confrontation between Israel’s military and judicial authorities and segments of the ultra-Orthodox community, sparked by recent enforcement actions against yeshiva students accused of evading conscription.

According to a report on Thursday at Israel National News, tensions erupted following reports that Israeli military police, accompanied by enforcement officials, carried out nighttime arrests at a private residence in Tel Aviv, where two brothers—both full-time yeshiva students—were detained on allegations of failing to report for compulsory enlistment into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The arrests, which occurred under the cover of darkness, were extended by a military court late Wednesday evening.

The episode has drawn severe condemnation from leading haredi media outlets, politicians, and rabbinical authorities. Yated Ne’eman, which is closely affiliated with the Degel HaTorah political faction and broadly represents the Lithuanian haredi world, devoted its lead editorial to denouncing what it described as a full-fledged campaign of persecution against Torah-observant Jews. The editorial asserts that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is orchestrating a “draconian campaign on multiple fronts simultaneously,” warning that her actions are “intended to provoke irreversible damage” to the delicate relationship between the state and its haredi citizens.

As reported by Israel National News, the arrests are part of an intensified nationwide effort to enforce military service laws among eligible haredi males, many of whom claim exemptions based on full-time Torah study. The military has reportedly been under pressure from segments of the public and the judiciary to crack down on widespread draft evasion, especially in light of recent rulings by Israel’s High Court that invalidated blanket exemptions for yeshiva students.

However, the response from the haredi world has been swift, visceral, and uncompromising.

The editorial pages of Yated Ne’eman on Thursday warned of dire consequences, employing apocalyptic rhetoric rarely seen in the mainstream haredi press. “The leaders of the Israeli state have decided to put their heads into the guillotine,” the editorial thundered. “The drums of war are already pounding in our temples… The Jewish world is now uniting to fight for its very soul.”

Referencing Psalm 105:15, the editorial issued a veiled theological warning to Israeli authorities: “Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.” The invocation of this verse—commonly understood within rabbinic tradition as a divine protection over Torah scholars—underscores the severity with which the haredi establishment views the recent arrests.

As the Israel National News report noted, this latest confrontation emerges amid an already volatile national atmosphere. The ongoing war in Gaza and the sustained reserve call-ups have reignited longstanding debates over the status of haredi military exemptions. In a recent ruling, the High Court mandated that the state immediately halt all funding to yeshivot whose students have not received legal deferrals, effectively threatening the infrastructure of the haredi educational system.

While the government has yet to officially endorse a full-scale policy shift, enforcement operations such as those in Tel Aviv may signal the beginning of a more assertive stance. Some observers interpret the arrests as a test case, designed to gauge the ultra-Orthodox response to a firmer hand from the state.

Indeed, the fallout has already begun. In Bnei Brak, Jerusalem, and Beit Shemesh—haredi strongholds—impromptu demonstrations erupted overnight, with yeshiva students and their supporters blocking intersections and denouncing what they termed the “kidnapping” of Torah scholars. Rabbinical councils are reportedly convening emergency meetings, and some senior religious figures have hinted at a possible call for mass civil disobedience if arrests continue.

Israel National News reported that members of the haredi political leadership, including representatives from United Torah Judaism and Shas, have demanded an immediate cessation of all military police raids targeting yeshiva students. A joint statement issued by the parties declared: “These arrests are a declaration of war against our community. The government must understand that the preservation of Torah is not negotiable.”

Within the Knesset, the issue threatens to fracture Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition. The ultra-Orthodox parties are essential partners in his right-wing bloc, and any escalation may force a political reckoning. Senior Likud sources quoted by Israel National News have expressed concern that the Attorney General’s approach may be “strategically unwise,” especially at a time when the government is balancing national security, judicial reforms, and mounting international scrutiny.

Legal experts, meanwhile, are divided over the scope of the Attorney General’s authority in these matters. Baharav-Miara has maintained that enforcement of conscription laws is a legal imperative following the High Court’s decision, and that no citizen, regardless of religious affiliation, is above the law.

But for the haredi community, the issue transcends legality—it cuts to the very heart of their identity and values. Torah study is not simply a personal religious choice but a national spiritual mission, one that offers divine protection to the state as much as any military operation.

That belief, shared across most haredi factions, remains steadfast. “When it comes to Torah,” the Yated Ne’eman editorial concluded, “the result is already decided: we have won. The only question is what will happen along the way and what price the plotters will pay.”

As the report at Israel National News indicated, the coming days are expected to be a flashpoint for renewed political, social, and legal confrontation. Whether the government will press ahead with further arrests—or seek a negotiated compromise with religious leaders—remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that Thursday’s front page has declared a state of open spiritual war, and the battleground is no longer theoretical.