It argued that the direction the army is taking conflicts with Jewish law and operational judgment.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been urged by a group of religious-Zionist rabbis to halt the Israel Defense Forces’ expansion of women into certain combat roles, after the military launched a new program that would assign women to the Armored Corps.
The appeal was delivered Wednesday in a letter signed by 20 rabbis affiliated with the Torat Ha’aretz HaTova organization, according to the Jerusalem Post.
In the document, the rabbis warned that expanding mixed-gender service in frontline units could undermine military readiness and place religious soldiers in an untenable position.
The letter, titled “Harm to the operational resilience and service capability of soldiers due to the expansion of the integration of female soldiers,” said the rabbis were writing “out of deep concern.”
It argued that the direction the army is taking conflicts with Jewish law and operational judgment.
“Now, when the army is marching toward a mixture of genders that is forbidden by Judaism, contrary to logic and security needs, we can no longer remain silent,” the rabbis wrote.
They added that they are troubled by what they described as a growing trend of integrating women into combat and maneuvering units.
The rabbis further argued that the character of the IDF is inseparable from religious considerations. “As has been emphasized more than once, the IDF is not just another army; its strength and the secret of its victory lie in the divine assistance that accompanies it,” the letter stated.
It added that “maintaining holiness and modesty in the army camp is not a private matter for the religious soldier but a fundamental condition for the strength of the entire army and for divine assistance on the battlefield.”
According to the rabbis, mixed-gender service in armored units would confront their students with an “impossible contradiction” between religious observance and military duty.
The letter drew a sharp response from Forum Dvorah, an organization promoting women’s participation in national security and foreign policy.
The group warned that the rabbis’ message amounted to “a direct and serious threat of refusal to serve” and said efforts to condition service weaken the IDF and harm state security.