IDF Says No Shared-Service Scenario in Planned Pilot After Hesder Yeshiva Chiefs' Letter

After 12 hesder yeshiva heads said they would not send students to the Armored Corps if women are integrated, the IDF is stressing that no decision has yet been made on the matter. “Among all the options being examined in the pilot, there is no alternative in which men and women will serve together in the same framework.”

A day after the publication of the letter from the 12 hesder yeshiva heads, in which they said they would not send their students to serve in the Armored Corps if women were integrated into it, the IDF issued an official response and sought to clarify the situation regarding the pilot under consideration. The IDF said that after about two and a half years of intense, multi-front, unprecedented war, during which operational missions were significantly expanded and the burden on the reserve system increased, there is a need for every piece of quality manpower. “The IDF needs every fighter, male and female,” it said.

It also said that, “As the army of the people, the IDF attaches supreme importance to integrating all populations, while making a great effort to preserve their way of life and needs, in a way that does not harm one population at the expense of another.”

The IDF stressed that the High Court of Justice did not order the enlistment of women into the Armored Corps, but rather instructed the military to hold the planned pilot on the subject. According to the IDF, “A pilot, as its name indicates, is a preliminary trial to examine whether to continue.” It was also noted that the pilot will be carried out in accordance with the joint-service directive, while meeting all operational and professional standards and according to operational need.

The official statement emphasized that “among all the options being examined in the pilot, there is no alternative in which men and women will serve together in the same framework.” The IDF added that, as of now, the pilot has not yet been presented to the chief of staff, and the issue is expected to be brought up for discussion in the near future. The army also said that in recent months there has been ongoing contact between senior IDF officials and hesder yeshiva heads, their representatives and other figures in the national-religious ציבור סביב this issue. It concluded by saying, “The IDF values and appreciates the contribution of all servicemen and servicewomen, including hesder yeshiva service members, to the security effort in all arenas.”

This morning, Rabbi David Fendel, head of the hesder yeshiva in Sderot, which has hundreds of students, published a video explaining what stands behind the decision to stop sending students to the Armored Corps, following the High Court ruling on integrating women into the combat ranks. According to the rabbi, this is not, heaven forbid, a call for refusal to serve, as he put it, but rather a legitimate demand by combat students whose profile does not suit infantry, that the IDF find a solution allowing them to continue enlisting in the Armored Corps in a way that would not be forbidden to them.

Rabbi David Fendel responds to criticism, photo: courtesy of the photographer

“We represent thousands of students who are soldiers, full of motivation, full of willingness, who want to remain everywhere, serve, are ready to give their lives for love of the Land, love of the State, and want with all their strength to be part of the national effort and part of the IDF,” Rabbi Fendel declared. He stressed, “The IDF does not allow this. Suddenly, in the middle of a war, in the most incomprehensible way, girls are being put into the tank, which is forbidden according to halacha according to all rabbis from every part of the spectrum. Even ‘extremists,’ even liberals, every rabbi you ask, for all rabbis this is a consensus.”

The rabbi clarified that this is a demand from the fighters in the field. “You don’t need to ask the rabbis, ask the soldiers, they come to us, they learned halacha, they got it from home, they got it from themselves, they do not want to be in a place that is forbidden to them. It is like the army accepting upon itself that no one is forced, heaven forbid, to desecrate Shabbat, or eat forbidden foods, purity of the camp too, it is so simple.”

Responding to the accusation of refusal to serve, he said, “Who dares speak about refusal to serve? The guys want to serve, are looking for how to serve, are looking with all their strength to be part of this national effort. Please give us space and we will not divide and will not incite. We want to find the right solution with the State of Israel.”