Arad (Israel) (AFP) – Noam Cohen was driving to a bar on a Saturday two years ago with his wife and friends in his hometown of Arad, in southern Israel, when a group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish boys began shouting at passing cars.

The drivers were guilty of violating the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest. The boys also insulted the women in the group, including Cohen's wife.

"That's where I started to lose my temper," Cohen told AFP. "It touched me personally."

The incident pushed Cohen to join a growing protest movement of secular residents, who say the expanding ultra-Orthodox population is reshaping the character of their hometown.

"It's no longer the same city I grew up in," resident Einat Jupiter said.

As Israelis prepare to vote in parliamentary elections on October 27, tensions in Arad, where people took to the streets to demonstrate several times this year, have become a microcosm of a broader national debate.

An especially sore point is how Israel exempts religious students from military service, at a time that forces are stretched following three years of war.

"What's happening in Arad can reflect the future of the entire State of Israel," Cohen said.

The ultra-Orthodox "simply have more children", he said. "You can't fight against that."

Ultra-Orthodox Jews account for more than 14 percent of Israel's population. Their share is projected to reach roughly one-quarter by mid-century.

Their growing demographic weight, driven by a fertility rate of 6.5 children per woman, has translated into political influence.

Two ultra-Orthodox parties support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition and have long wielded significant leverage over issues ranging from the military service exemption to budget allocations.

For many secular residents of Arad, that tension feels increasingly personal.

"We can't live together. Our lives and theirs are completely different; we're not compatible," Cohen said.

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