Finance Minister Smotrich Backs Soldiers Refusing Duty With Female Medic

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has publicly backed soldiers from the Givati Brigade who were disciplined for refusing to serve alongside a female paramedic. In a post on social media platform X, Smotrich stated he supports the soldiers who "insisted on their right and duty to serve in the IDF, while preserving their values and faith and adhering to the proper integration order." He added that the soldiers have the full backing of the rabbis and directors of the Hesder Yeshiva Association, who have "examined the issue in depth and with due caution and stand behind the decision."

Smotrich criticized the IDF, expressing hope that the military would reconsider its actions to avoid his intervention. "As the leader of Religious Zionism, I cannot stand idly by and I will demand answers from the IDF on this matter," he wrote. He lamented that "there are those in the IDF who choose the mistaken judgment to confront head-on the most serving and contributing public, in a way that will only create damage and harm public trust in the IDF."

The incident occurred last Wednesday when approximately five soldiers from the Rotem Battalion of the Givati Brigade, including students from Hesder Yeshivas, refused to board an armored personnel carrier with a female paramedic and did not report for operational activity in the Gaza Strip, leading to the cancellation of the mission. The five soldiers were sentenced by the battalion commander to ten days in military prison, and eleven additional soldiers received five-day sentences.

Rabbi Dror Aryeh, one of the rabbis at the Sderot Hesder Yeshiva, condemned the IDF's decision, calling it "unprecedented audacity." He criticized the Defense Minister for failing to protect "dedicated fighters from progressive madness" and praised the soldiers as "heroes" who would be remembered as "true victors in this bizarre story." He asserted that the soldiers' commanders acted against Halakha (Jewish law) and orders, and that the commanders, not the soldiers, should have been disciplined.