The Israel Defense Forces announced Tuesday that it will open more combat roles to female fighters beyond mixed-gender light infantry units, where some are already serving.
The decision means that women joining the IDF will be able to compete in elite search and rescue and engineering units, and will likely serve as a litmus test for military planners, which they say will depend on the success of the integration. More roles may be opened in the future. these units.
The move follows the recommendations of an internal committee that called on the military to open new combat roles for women recruits, subject to them passing various specialized physical and mental screenings.
The committee was set up by the IDF to evaluate the integration of women into additional combat roles in the military in 2020 after four female recruits petitioned the High Court for combat units currently open only to men. Right to try. It was led by Major General Joel Strick, the then commander of the IDF Ground Forces.
Women will now be able to serve in combat conditions in the elite helicopter-borne Search and Rescue Unit 669 (which was .) announced last week), in the elite Yahlom combat engineering unit, and as drivers in an infantry brigade to be determined at a later date.
The committee estimated that there were probably dozens of potential female recruits who met the physical limits required for certain roles in infantry units, but decided to allow them to serve as drivers only to put their theory to the test. decided to. Prospective drivers must meet the requirements required for infantry soldiers.
The panel explained the relatively minor detail, saying it did not think that more than a handful of women would meet the tough physical requirements for other roles in elite combat units.
Soldiers from Israeli Air Force elite Unit 669 take part in an exercise in an undated photo. (Israel Defense Force)
According to the IDF, in Unit 669, women soldiers must pass screening “to ensure that the unit continues to carry out its operational tasks at the required quality”.
In Yahlom, the IDF said, the women soldiers will serve in positions related to bomb disposal and other “unique missions”.
As per IDF estimates, both the units will start recruiting women soldiers within a year.
The plan for women to serve as combat drivers in an infantry unit is subject to the recruitment of sufficient numbers of soldiers, and to learn from the recruitment process in Unit 669 and Yahlom, the IDF said, so that the plan may take longer. .
Women play a variety of roles in the IDF, with male counterparts in many cases. There are also fully integrated mixed-gender combat units such as the Caracal and Bardelas Battalions, which are tasked with defending Israel’s border with Egypt and Jordan, respectively.
In the Air Force, women and men serve together in air defense units, including the Iron Dome – technically considered a combat unit.
Additionally, the committee recommended that many units in which women actually work alongside men, or are not prevented from doing so – including many naval roles – be officially listed as open to women.
Example: Female soldiers of the Bardless Battalion in training, July 13, 2016. (hadas man/flash90)
IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi accepted the committee’s findings and recommendations, saying “they combine”. [military’s] “Professional and operational requirements, thereby maintaining the health of soldiers as well as optimum utilization of human capital,” the army said in a statement.
“The recommendations of the committee will be implemented in a professional and gradual manner,” the IDF said.
New roles for women will be under close monitoring and will likely serve as a pilot for the possible opening of other roles for women.
The military has insisted in the past that it is allowing more women to serve in combat situations out of practical considerations and not because of a progressive social agenda, saying it has all-female- and manpower available. .
Example: Female soldiers in training, in an undated photography published by the Army on June 7, 2022. (Israel Defense Force)
Critics of gender integration in the military often condemn it as a dangerous experiment with potential implications for national security, while defenders generally see it as a long-needed measure that would put Israel on a par with other Western nations. keeps.
Last week, a group of senior rabbis The national religious camp signed a statement urging Kohavi to halt efforts to recruit men as well as women into combat units.
Opponents note that some requirements for female combat servicemen have been reduced—which they say is sacrificing effectiveness—and that servicewomen suffer stress injuries at a higher rate.
The High Court delayed the verdict on the case of the four female recruits till the Army finalized the committee constituted on the matter. The IDF on Tuesday submitted an updated response to the court with full details of the committee’s recommendations.
Military service is mandatory for Israeli men, who serve two years and eight months, while women serve two years. Some units require soldiers to stay longer than their mandated time due to the long training period.
