From Sayeret Matkal to Caracal: Rabbi Yigal Levinstein Calls on His Students

Rabbi Yigal Levinstein. Free use

"From Sayeret Matkal to Caracal": Rabbi Yigal Levinstein calls on his students. Yishai Friedman, about an hour ago, 16:57, 10. First publication: In a letter to his students, Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, one of the rabbis of the Beit Midrash for Leadership and one of the leading rabbis of Religious Zionism, writes, "The IDF is choosing Caracal over Sayeret Matkal," and calls on them not to serve in the elite unit. The rabbi explained that the mixing of men and women in IDF combat units severely harms the army’s values of victory and security.

Religious Zionist rabbis are furious over the IDF’s conduct. As reported yesterday for the first time on News 14, twelve rabbis from hesder yeshivas in Religious Zionism published a letter in which they call on their students not to serve in the Armored Corps after the High Court of Justice ruled to integrate female combat soldiers into the corps.

1 + Netanyahu with Sayeret Matkal soldiers, archive | Photo: Kobi Gideon / GPO

This event, from the IDF’s perspective, is escalating, as one of the senior rabbis of the Religious Zionist preparatory schools, Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, of the Beit Midrash for Leadership in the settlement of Eli, is joining the move. In the letter published here for the first time, Rabbi Levinstein urges his students to go to elite reconnaissance units such as Shayetet and Shaldag, but not Sayeret Matkal. The reason for the letter is that the IDF is working to integrate female combat soldiers into Sayeret Matkal, and recently a female soldier completed the course in the unit, a dedicated track adapted for women in the unit.

And this is what Rabbi Levinstein writes to his students: "Sayeret Matkal has become Caracal. A concept on steroids in the unit. The gender theory of radical feminism outweighs the value of victory... Out of responsibility for the value of victory of the IDF and of the unit in particular, I recommend that every pre-conscription recruit heading to the selection courses prefer units that see the value of victory as value No. 1. Such as: Shaldag and Shayetet, which do not lower requirements for the sake of the value of equality. The danger to Israel’s security is great because the unit is the professional compass and a symbol for the entire army, and if values are changed there, then certainly in other units, paratroopers, armor."

1 + Rabbi Yigal Levinstein | Credit: Free

The IDF is being pushed by feminist organizations and High Court rulings to integrate women into combat units. For religious and ultra-Orthodox soldiers, the meaning is to violate Torah prohibitions and in practice also the IDF’s mixed service regulations, which makes service impossible. The Beit Midrash for Leadership has paid a very heavy price since the war broke out, as have the hesder yeshivas that send their students to IDF maneuvering units. High Court rulings and the army’s conduct may close the doors to fighters from Religious Zionism in combat units, as happened in the Artillery Corps, and perhaps also in armor and Sayeret Matkal. Meanwhile, the IDF does not seem interested in dealing with the problem of pushing religious soldiers out of combat branches. And that is without even discussing the implications for drafting ultra-Orthodox soldiers into combat units.

Rabbi Yigal Levinstein News 14 Sayeret Matkal 16 Write a comment