In Israel’s recent years of war, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish population has become a central point of friction. A deal made at the country’s creation between political and religious leaders exempted what was then a small number of ultra-Orthodox men from compulsory military service. The act was meant to help Jewish scholars recover from the devastation of the Holocaust.
Since then, the ultra-Orthodox population has become the country’s fastest-growing group. The military exemption has grated on many Israelis who send their young men and women off to fight and have seen hundreds killed. The issue could be decisive in Tuesday's close election in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu relies on the ultra-Orthodox vote.
