The Association of Hesder Yeshivas said Thursday that its students will enlist in the Armored Corps this August, after rabbis from the Religious Zionist sector spoke with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Tuesday. The announcement came amid a growing dispute over women’s service in the corps and the IDF’s manpower needs.
According to the association, Zamir told the rabbis that the IDF is still short of thousands of fighters and needs every soldier and soldier to complete its missions and preserve battlefield gains. He said one of the foundations for integrating a broad range of populations into service is implementing the joint service order, which allows people to serve side by side rather than one at the expense of another. He added that any new frameworks or openings for women would be carried out fully in line with that order and while meeting professional standards.
The move follows a letter sent about two weeks ago by 12 large Hesder yeshiva heads, who announced they would stop sending their students to the Armored Corps starting with the next draft cycle. They cited the Supreme Court’s ruling requiring the IDF to integrate women into maneuvering armor units, said they viewed it very seriously, criticized the state and the army’s position, and asked for a solution for combat-fit students who cannot serve in infantry.
The background is a recent unanimous Supreme Court decision holding that the IDF has a legal duty to ensure equal opportunity between men and women in combat placements. By majority, the judges ordered a pilot program for women in the Armored Corps to begin in November 2026, and said barring women from a role can be only an exception, with the burden on the army to prove it. In response, 257 reserve officers, including six brigadier generals, seven colonels and 28 lieutenant colonels, sent their own letter to Zamir, Defense Minister Israel Katz and the Defense Ministry director general, warning against what they called an anti-women campaign and saying outside pressure on operational decisions would harm national security.
