After the Hesder Yeshiva Boycott: Zamir Issues Unusual Message

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir addressed today, for the first time, the uproar over the integration of female combat soldiers in the Armored Corps, following growing protest among heads of hesder yeshivas. Against the backdrop of an announcement by 13 additional hesder yeshiva heads that they would not send their students to enlist in the Armored Corps, Zamir made clear that the IDF would continue advancing the integration of all populations, while preserving the necessary balances.

"The IDF is the people’s army. For that reason, I see supreme importance in integrating all populations into its ranks, especially in the combat and combat-support array," he said. "This complex integration will always be carried out in a way that allows one public to serve alongside another and not at its expense. I say here clearly: I fully understand, and the IDF fully understands, the sensitivities and the required balances, and I have no doubt we will know how to win this challenge as well, because we have no other alternative. We are all together for the noblest goal of all, ensuring the security and strengthening the future of the State of Israel."

The uproar expanded today after 13 additional hesder yeshiva heads joined a similar call published two days ago by 12 yeshiva heads. That brought the number of yeshivas participating in the move to 25, about one-third of all hesder yeshivas in Israel. The move comes after a pilot program was advanced to integrate women as combat soldiers in the Armored Corps, and against the backdrop of the High Court of Justice ruling on the mixing of combat units. In their letter, the rabbis stressed that they were not calling for refusal to serve, and that the yeshiva students would continue to serve in the IDF, but not in the Armored Corps.