Q&A: Women's Service in the IDF
Women's Service in the IDF
Question
Hello,
What is the Rabbi's opinion about women's service in the IDF in general, and in combat roles in particular?
Answer
Hello Alice.
I don't think it can be forbidden on halakhic grounds, but I also don't see any advantage to it (in terms of contribution) over national service. It depends on the role. In addition, the social environment and chains of command can be problematic, but again it's hard to say that there is a halakhic prohibition. The prohibition based on men's gear/apparel (which is mentioned in several rather esoteric sources) and so on seems to me not relevant today.
In parentheses I'll say that quite apart from Jewish law and Torah-based arguments, in my humble opinion it is not advisable to place women in combat service. The harm is far greater than the benefit for several reasons. Here are three:
1. I was surprised to hear on the radio some time ago the head of some organization (a thoroughly secular person, a reserve lieutenant colonel) saying that the medical injuries suffered by female soldiers during basic training and afterward are enormous and severe (one of the secrets you're not allowed to reveal because of political correctness). There are shocking percentages of dropout and long-term injuries of various kinds (according to him, over 50%!!! and that's even when the training is easier), and they don't allow this to be revealed to the public (he himself requested data from the IDF under the Freedom of Information Law and they refused to give it to him. In the end he got it somehow).
2. Despite the denials, concessions are made in their training process and in soldiering standards.
3. If a woman were to fall captive, it would be a disaster. They would deploy entire divisions at disproportionate cost to free her. That would lead to distorted operational considerations.
Discussion on Answer
Absolutely not. The army is responsible for her fate even if she waived it. In a real situation nobody will remember that she waived it, and it also isn't right not to act because she waived it.
Not at all. It only reinforces them. Go see how people spoke about the female captives as opposed to the male captives. Nobody remembered that in principle there is no difference between women and men.
Hello Rabbi, if I remember correctly I saw that you wrote that the state should allow adults the freedom to commit suicide (correct me if I'm wrong). How is that different from here, where you say the army is still responsible for her fate? After all, she agreed to take the risk.
Permission to commit suicide does not allow you to jump under the wheels of my car. A soldier cannot decide to commit suicide. That's a systemic consideration.
If the injuries would interfere with their ability to fight and despite that they would still be taken into combat, then you're right, but I think Loh meant women whom the IDF would decide do not interfere with combat performance and who pass the same threshold as boys. In that case, why can't a soldier decide for herself whether to take the risk or not?
Just so there is no doubt, I meant removing the army's responsibility in the event of injury during training; someone who dropped out of combat service because of an injury would not be able to sue the army and would have to pay for her own treatment out of pocket.
1.2. Shouldn't this be the woman's own decision? Present her with the dangers and let her take care of herself. And if it's legitimate, maybe even remove the army's responsibility in case of injury, so that only the most suitable women, who completed the training successfully and without concessions, would actually serve as combat soldiers, in separate units (for Torah-based and other considerations).
3. Does the last war change anything in what you said in this section?