Yoav Marer commutes from Yeshiva Ohr Somayach, an ultra-Orthodox rabbinical school.

WSJ: Hockey Heats Up in Tiny Village With Israel's Only Big Rink

In 2010, 50 percent of ultra-Orthodox male high school graduates were conscripted.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Is Israeli society unraveling?

Even before the U.N. approved the partition of Palestine, in 1947, David Ben-Gurion, who believed that the ultra-Orthodox would become secular over the generations, quieted their objections with old-school political deals.

NEWYORKER: The Party Faithful

Snowe, 66, came about her independence through being orphaned at age 9 and sent off to an out-of-state boarding school run by the Greek Orthodox Church.

NPR: Snowe Presses For Bipartisanship In New Book

The school board is almost entirely made up of ultra-Orthodox Jews who send their children to private schools and are bent on keeping taxes low.

WSJ: Barbs of racism, anti-Semitism in NY school clash

Public-school parents accuse the board of the 9, 000-student East Ramapo Central School District of cutting teachers, guidance counselors, art programs, all-day kindergarten and the high school marching band, while diverting public resources to favored Orthodox institutions.

WSJ: Barbs of racism, anti-Semitism in NY school clash