While the uptick in enlistment may represent a drastic change in certain sects of Ultra-Orthodox society’s attitude towards military service, the vast majority remains widely opposed to any kind of mandatory service.

On Wednesday evening, roughly 500 members of the more extreme Ultra-Orthodox sects staged a protest in Jerusalem against the coming draft laws, which are expected to be promoted in the Knesset in the coming weeks. The protestors blocked both roads and train tracks before police forces responded with crowd control methods. 30 protestors were arrested.

A preliminary reading of the new draft legislation passed in the Knesset in July, causing a rift with the Coalition’s Ultra-Orthodox parties, which lead to a postponement of the law to December.

The measure calls for Haredi yeshivot to meet annual enlistment quotas, and for those quotas to increase annually for ten years. Yeshivot that fail, or refuse, to meet the quotas will suffer reductions in government funding. The proposal calls for 3,000 yeshiva students to be drafted and 600 will agree to perform civilian national service in the first stage, which will last two years. After that, yeshivot that fail to hit a 95 per cent target will face additional economic sanctions.