Four yeshiva students refused last week to board a military transport that had tank commanders in training on it, delaying the ride until commanders spoke with them. After the discussion, the soldiers got on the vehicle and the trip continued.
The incident happened at the end of a training day, when the transport arrived to pick up male and female fighters from the training area. The women were seated in the back of the truck, while other soldiers boarded without objection. The four students initially refused to get on.
The IDF said in response that it would continue to act in line with the joint service order, while addressing the needs of all service members and preserving their way of life. The event comes amid a wider dispute over integrating women into combat roles and mixed-gender service in the army.
In April, the High Court of Justice ruled that the IDF is legally required, as far as possible, to ensure equal opportunity between the sexes in assignments to combat roles, and ordered a pilot program in the Armored Corps to begin in November 2026. In reaction, 12 heads of major hesder yeshivas said they would stop sending students to the Armored Corps from the next enlistment cycle. In a letter, they accused the state and the army of harming the “sanctity of the camp” and combat effectiveness. Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir later said, “There will be no exclusion of women in the IDF,” adding that women’s integration is “value-based, equal and an operational necessity,” and that “all parts of the population must bear the burden.” Yesterday, Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, head of the Eli pre-military academy, urged his students not to enlist in Sayeret Matkal, saying the unit had become mixed-gender.
