13 More Hesder Yeshiva Heads Join Boycott of the Armored Corps

The crisis over female tank crews in the IDF is intensifying. Just hours after the IDF Spokesperson’s response to the letter from hesder yeshiva heads, more rabbis are joining the boycott of the Armored Corps. In addition to the first 12 yeshiva heads, another 13 yeshiva heads are now joining, making a total of 25 hesder yeshivas that have stopped sending recruits to the Armored Corps. This means hundreds of fighters will be missing from the Armored Corps as a result of the decision to integrate female combat soldiers.

The yeshiva heads who joined the letter are Rabbi Michael Aaronov, head of Yeshivat Maale Ephraim, Rabbi David Amitai of Yeshivat Avinoam, Rabbi Shlomo Binyamin of Yeshivat Lev Da’at, Rabbi Eran Tamir of Yeshivat Orot Ashkelon, Rabbi Elisha Yinnon of Yeshivat Afula, Rabbi Eyal Yakubovich of Yeshivat Safed, Rabbi Eliyahu Mali of Jaffa, Rabbi Avihu Fishfeder of Yeshivat Ashkelon, Rabbi Shlomo Shushan of Yeshivat Beit She’an, Rabbi Yehoshua Schmidt of Yeshivat Nahalat Yosef, Rabbi David Turgeman of Yeshivat Dimona, and two additional yeshiva heads who asked that their names not be published.

The yeshiva heads’ letter: We will not send our students to the Armored Corps. The rabbis stressed that the meaning of the Supreme Court ruling is the mixing of combat units, and wrote: “We are pained by the feeble response of the State of Israel and the IDF, which did not express opposition to this move. As yeshiva heads, we are aware of the heavy responsibility placed on our shoulders. The IDF is the army of the people of Israel, and the sanctity of the camp is the basis of its spirit and of its success in defeating the enemy. Bringing female soldiers into tanks together with male soldiers harms combat capability, both spiritually and practically.”

The rabbis announced: “After serious deliberation, we have decided that service in the Armored Corps is forbidden under Jewish law, and therefore we will not send our students to serve in the Armored Corps starting with the next enlistment. Our thousands of students who enlist in combat units will continue to do so with commitment and force, but the IDF bears responsibility to provide those with combat profiles who are not suited for infantry service with a combat framework that fits their fighting spirit.”

Yesterday, the IDF Spokesperson released a lengthy statement arguing that the pilot program to integrate women into the Armored Corps was following the Supreme Court ruling, and that the pilot had not been finalized or brought for discussion to the chief of staff.