IDF Is Not a Sector's Private Army, Author Says Amid Tank Service Row

A Hebrew op-ed argues that the Israel Defense Forces must remain a national institution, not one that serves any sector, rabbi, politician, protest movement, or pressure group. The piece says the recent letter from heads of hesder yeshivas, declaring that their students will no longer enlist in the tank corps, is a dangerous ultimatum against shared service rather than a legitimate ideological dispute.

The author rejects claims that the IDF is planning mixed-gender tank crews in maneuver brigades, calling the public panic disconnected from the operational reality. According to the article, no such model exists today, and the army is only gradually and professionally examining additional combat roles for women based on operational fitness, physiological strain, and team performance, not public pressure.

The article says the debate over women in combat should remain professional, noting that women already make up about 18% to 20% of the IDF's operational and border-defense forces and can serve in about 90% of military positions. It adds that women have proved their capabilities for years, especially on October 7, serving as observers, fighters, officers, medics, and commanders.

At the same time, the author points to what she calls an outdated broad exemption for tens of thousands of other young men, while the military faces a severe manpower shortage. She says reserve forces are under unprecedented strain, with hundreds of thousands of reservists repeatedly pulled from their homes and businesses, and asks who will keep serving if Haredim do not enlist in significant numbers and other groups set ideological conditions.

The article says the larger issue is whether Israel, in 2026, can still maintain a single shared national framework where security comes before sectoral demands. It ends by urging political and military leaders to keep the IDF the army of the state, not of any faction.