She became the second Israeli woman appointed as commander of a combat group. First, Major Oshrat Bhatar was born in 2014.
These reports may give the impression the IDF is making steady progress, even if it’s a little slow, in achieving gender equality. Reality, however, can be much more complex.
Some women were furious at the idea of extending combat roles to women. Major General Yiftah Yiftah, former commander of the Ground Forces Command, referred to the plan as ” scandalous ” and “led” by someone who wanted to weaken IDF. Avigdor Khalani, a decorated general and former member of parliament, warned that war could affect women’s abilities to become mothers.
Female soldiers attend an event to remember. Nir Elias/Reuters
Other protesters were from the religious world. Former IDF Chief Rabbi Israel Weiss said, “We cannot put… male and female soldiers into a box and expect nothing to happen.” You’ll have a little soldier in nine months.”
A controversial rabbi
The IDF also announced that Rabbi Colonel Eyal Karma was promoted to Chief Rabbi, the highest religious position in the IDF. Human rights and feminist organizations were outraged by this announcement due to Karim’s past remarks.
Karim had suggested in 2012 that wartime rape could be excused if “consideration is given to the soldiers’ difficulty” while out fighting. Karim also stated that women are “entirely prohibited” from serving in the army due to modesty and has opposed female singers at army events.
The High Court of Justice in Israel, after receiving a petition from Meretz (a leftist party), delayed Karim’s appointment and demanded an affidavit explaining his previous remarks. Karim retracted the plea after releasing a written explanation that stated:
I’m sorry for my mistake. I sometimes didn’t phrase my comments exactly, and some people were hurt.
Justice Miriam Naor of Israel’s Supreme Court cleared Karim’s nomination, noting that “it is a shame the clear words of the respondent in his [affidavit] did not receive express expression earlier… but better late than no”.
Women and conscription
IDF is the first army to have introduced mandatory military service for men and women. The Israeli Defence Service Law from 1949, which reflects IDF’s perception as “the Army of the People,” is the foundation for conscription.
Israel, despite the many debates over where women can serve, has always been proud of the role they played in military organizations, and that too, without being asked, long before Israel was established.
IDF service is not only a legal requirement, but it’s also a social norm. In Israeli society, it is an honorable and consensual rite of passage. Although this consensus weakened over the past decade the public debates on the extent of women’s positions in IDF don’t question, at the least within mainstream discourse, women’s conscription as a primary principle.
Only men zones
As the debate continues over the role that women should play in our military, another significant development is taking place in the background. In 2000, a amendment made to the Military Service Law established that women had an equal right to serve any role in the military.
A woman can only be denied a specific military role if it is necessary to do so due to its nature. Religious demands for a non-women’s military environment can lead to the exclusion of certain women from military roles and tracks, even if the nature or job doesn’t require such an exclusion.
This fear was heightened by an order from Gadi Eisenkot as Chief of the General Staff, which granted religious soldiers the right to avoid performing military tasks with women.
This order is a revision to the 2003 “appropriate inclusion order”, which defined the rights of religious troops to an army environment in harmony with their religious needs. This includes the need to refrain from contact with women when they are “in circumstances of seclusion, or immodesty.”
Further complicating matters is the fact that both the Israeli government and the IDF have committed themselves to ongoing efforts in order to increase the participation of Haredi men (Jewish Ultra-Orthodox) soldiers. Often, the only requirement for this type of service is that male-only units perform it.
The men of the Netzah Yehuda Haredi Infantry Battalion at their swearing-in ceremonies in 2013. Ammar Awad/Reuters
The IDF is introducing a “female free” area to encourage religious men to enlist. This will be in place throughout the entire recruitment and enlistment process. According to Haredi leaders’ demands, a new camp will be built where strict Jewish rules, including the exclusion of women, will be followed.
Religion vs. gender equality
The IDF is pulled in two directions by the demands of religious leaders and gender equality principles.
This dilemma raises some interesting questions. Will the troops insist that the battle “time out” until women are removed from the situation if circumstances force a female to command a religious infantry corps in a battle scenario? Are they entitled to it? If the answer is “yes,” can an army that allows “no-women” spaces be considered a professional, uncompromising body capable of meeting the complex security needs of the country?
The number of women and religious soldiers in combat units has been increasing as the debate continues. In the last five years, the number of women serving in the IDF doubled. Each year, we witness a record draft of Orthodox women.
Professor Yagil Lévy, an expert on the history of Israel’s army, society, and politics, explained in an interview why it is important to have more women in the IDF:
The IDF has realized that if there are economic pressures to reduce the mandatory service, but the toll on missions is not reduced, one way to slow down the transition to a professional army would be to create new opportunities for women and attract them.
Levy’s prediction could be true, and the IDF will, despite constant budget cuts, introduce new positions, including combat units for women. This is despite a vocal coalition of religious veterans. Israel’s ultra-religious will not allow this to happen.