Panel Warns Women in Armored Corps Pilot Could Damage Haredi and Religious Draft Arrangements

A Hebrew-language panel on the Serugim program “Kippat Barzel” focused on the Israel Defense Forces decision to launch a pilot on integrating women into the Armored Corps, following a rabbinic letter that intensified the controversy. The discussion, moderated by Natanel Izak, linked the issue to broader tensions over military service for yeshiva students, preparatory academy members, religious law, army policy, and High Court rulings.

Commentator Yishai Cohen of Kikar HaShabbat argued that the religious Zionist public is being used as the next target after efforts to draft Haredim. He said critics want a fully secular army and accused them of labeling religious soldiers as refusers simply because they want to serve in combat while keeping halacha.

Serugim editor Aryeh Yuvaly said the women in armor issue is not a military initiative but one driven by the High Court. He pointed to the Artillery Corps as a precedent, claiming that adding women reduced the number of hesder soldiers, left the army with fewer reservists, and created reliance on 40-year-old hesder reservists to hold the line. He warned the same could happen in the Armored Corps.

Strategist Avi Widerman urged caution, saying it was a mistake to air the letter publicly and that negotiations should have remained behind the scenes. He warned the dispute could eventually end with no hesder framework in the Armored Corps and possibly the closure of hesder yeshivas, despite their contribution to the IDF and Israel.

Yigal Brand, CEO of the World Betar movement, called the initiative bad and unnecessary, saying it reflected progressive efforts to seize control of strong institutions. He said the rabbis had tried quietly for years to handle the matter and concluded that introducing women in a way that hurts operational effectiveness undermines the army’s victory and combat value.