Rabbis have reportedly threatened to bar students from joining armored units over a pilot program for female soldiers
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has ruled out mixed-gender tank crews in a pilot program that would allow women to serve in frontline armored units, following objections from influential rabbis, according to media reports.
Several Religious Zionist rabbis have reportedly opposed the initiative on religious grounds, warning they would discourage enlistment if it proceeds.
In response to the criticism, the IDF said on Wednesday that tank crews would remain single sex, while insisting it “needs every male and female combat soldier,” according to the Times of Israel.
The IDF added that more than two years of fighting on multiple fronts had placed a “significant burden” on reserve forces.
Since the October 2023 Hamas attack, the IDF has been fighting in Gaza while also carrying out military operations in southern Lebanon, exchanging direct strikes with Iran, and trading missile and drone attacks with Yemen’s Houthis.
The military has publicly acknowledged a shortage of troops and reportedly said it urgently needs around 12,000 additional recruits, mostly to fill combat roles.
The dispute comes after Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled in April that the military must move ahead with a long-delayed trial aimed at expanding women’s access to combat positions. The test was originally expected to begin in 2024, but was postponed twice during the war and is currently scheduled to start in the latter part of this year.
The rabbis’ opposition was outlined in an open letter criticizing the court’s decision. They argued that integrating women into armored formations would conflict with religious norms and called on the military to assign religiously observant recruits to alternative army jobs.
Many members of the Religious Zionist community serve in the Armored Corps and other frontline units through the so-called Hesder program, which combines religious studies with military service.
Despite the IDF’s statement, Israeli media reported on Thursday that additional religious institutions had joined the campaign against the integration of units.
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