IDF Chief Tells Haredi-Style Rabbis Women’s Combat Integration Will Continue

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told rabbis from hesder yeshivas on Tuesday that the army will keep pushing to expand women’s integration into key and combat roles, despite tensions over the pilot program for female tank soldiers. The meeting was held because of the strain between the IDF and the yeshivas following the armored corps pilot.

At the start of the discussion, Zamir praised the yeshivas and preparatory academies for encouraging meaningful military service, especially combat service, and for what he called the major contribution and sacrifice of their students over the years, particularly during the war. The IDF said he also outlined current manpower needs, saying the army faces unprecedented operational challenges and a wide range of missions across all fronts.

Zamir said the IDF is still short of thousands of fighters and needs every soldier, male and female, to complete its missions and protect wartime gains. He said a key basis for integrating diverse populations is implementing the joint-service order, which allows people to serve alongside one another “and not at the expense of one another,” while preserving the dignity of all service members. He added that he intends to strengthen that order and related routine regulations, which are harder to uphold during a prolonged war.

On women’s integration, Zamir said expanding women’s roles in key posts and combat positions has “immense operational importance” and the IDF will continue to expand it, with new frameworks and open roles implemented in full accordance with the joint-service order in routine, emergency, and war, based on operational needs and strict professional standards. The rabbis said they would continue educating their students for military service as needed, and raised the challenges faced by religiously observant soldiers who want to serve according to their beliefs and values. Zamir concluded that Israel has “one army, the people’s army,” which must accommodate all complexities and enable meaningful service for all parts of society.