Majority of Hesder yeshiva heads sign petition against infantry integration of female combat soldiers

Thirty-six rabbis, representing a majority of Israel’s hesder yeshiva heads, have signed a sharply worded letter calling on their students to stop being sent to the Armored Corps. The move comes after the High Court of Justice ordered the army to integrate female combat soldiers into maneuvering armored units, and as the military prepares an intensive pilot program on the issue.

According to the signatories, placing women in forward combat units harms the halachic way of life of observant soldiers and undermines the sanctity of the camp. They also argued that the spiritual and moral strength of the Israel Defense Forces is a central condition for victory in war.

The rabbis said they had tried to open a dialogue with military officials, but the gaps remained unresolved. They said the responses they received from the army led them to intensify their steps and broaden the call not to enlist in the Armored Corps. In recent months, high-level religious Zionist yeshivas had already stopped sending students to the corps for the last three cohorts, and the hesder yeshiva move deepens the dispute with the IDF Personnel Directorate.

The campaign office said some additional yeshiva heads joined the letter anonymously, fearing budgetary or administrative retaliation from the Defense Ministry or the IDF. More names are expected to be published in the coming days. Among those who signed publicly are Rabbis Yehoshua Shapira, Ben Zion Elgazi, Efraim Giami, Yitzhak Neriya, Yeshayahu Meitalis, Mesh Chai Beharav, Yoni Harosh, Yaakov Bar Chen, and Shmuel Kotai.