IDF Responds to Hesder Yeshiva Heads:

Against the backdrop of a threat by 12 hesder yeshiva heads not to send their students to enlist in the Armored Corps because of women’s service, the IDF said Wednesday evening that it is preparing to advance a pilot program to examine integrating female combat soldiers into the Armored Corps, while stressing that no decision has yet been made on the matter. The military said that "the High Court of Justice did not instruct the IDF to enlist female soldiers in the Armored Corps, but rather instructed it to carry out the planned pilot." It also emphasized that "a pilot, as its name suggests, is an initial experiment for further examination," and that it will be conducted "in accordance with the joint service order, while ensuring compliance with all the required operational and professional standards, and in accordance with operational need." The IDF clarified that one of the main issues raised in discussions with figures in the national-religious public concerns joint service by men and women. "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," it said. The military added that the need to examine expanding the integration of women into combat roles comes against the backdrop of the ongoing war and the growing strain on the reserve forces: "After about two and a half years of intense, multi-front, unprecedented war, in which the IDF’s operational missions have expanded and the burden on the reserve system has increased significantly, the IDF needs every fighter, male and female," it said. The military also said that "as the people’s army, the IDF sees utmost importance in integrating all populations, while making a great effort to preserve their way of life and needs, in a manner that does not harm one population at the expense of another." According to the IDF, the pilot has not yet been presented for discussion to the chief of staff, and the issue is expected to be discussed in the near future. In parallel, "senior IDF officers have been in continuous contact in recent months with heads of hesder yeshivas and their representatives, alongside other figures in the national-religious public, on this issue." The military added that it "values and appreciates the contribution of all service members, including hesder yeshiva students, to the security effort in all sectors."

Yesterday, 12 hesder yeshiva heads announced that they would stop sending their students to the Armored Corps in the next enlistment cycle. Their letter came in response to the pilot to integrate female soldiers into the Armored Corps. Among those who signed the letter were Rabbi Eliakim Levanon and Rabbi Shachar Imbar, heads of the Alon Moreh Yeshiva, Rabbi Chagai Londin and Rabbi Tal Shaulyan, heads of the Holon Yeshiva, Rabbi Yehoshua Van Dijk, head of the Itamar Yeshiva, Rabbi David Fendel, head of the Sderot Yeshiva, Rabbi Baruch Vider, head of the Kotel Yeshiva, Rabbi Yossi Rodriguez, head of the hesder yeshiva Ayelet HaShahar in Eilat, Rabbi Noam Valdman, head of the Nir Yeshiva in Kiryat Arba, Rabbi Eliahu Rahamim Zini, head of Or VeYeshua Yeshiva in Haifa, and Rabbi Yaakov Yedid, head of the Carmiel Yeshiva. In addition, three other hesder yeshiva heads joined the document and asked not to have their names mentioned. The yeshiva heads wrote: "We, the undersigned, hesder yeshiva heads, whose students are at the front lines of the fighting, view with great severity the High Court’s decision to compel the IDF to integrate female soldiers into the maneuvering armored corps. We are pained by the weak response of the State of Israel and the IDF, who did not express opposition to this move."

"As yeshiva heads, we are aware of the weight of the responsibility placed on our shoulders. The IDF is an 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."

According to them, "We have decided that service in the Armored Corps is prohibited by halacha, and therefore we will not send our students to serve in the Armored Corps starting with the next enlistment. Thousands of our students who enlist in combat units will continue to do so with mission and determination, but the IDF bears responsibility for ensuring that those with combat profiles who are not suited for infantry service are placed in a combat framework suited to their fighting spirit."