They are between 18 and 19 years old, their names are Gali, Omer, Mor and Mika and nothing distinguishes them from other young Israelis except their sudden media celebrity. They demand that the army allow them to run as candidates to join elite commandos, one of the IDF’s last male strongholds. In the appeal their lawyers have brought on their behalf to the High Court of Justice, they call on the Israel Defense Forces to explain why women are barred from access to elite units. “This unacceptable situation goes against the principle of equal opportunities guaranteed by law,” they say.
In excellent physical condition, these young girls want to participate in the commando selection like their male colleagues “without any concession or the slightest relief which would be decided according to their sex. For this quartet, the only criterion must be the ability or not to serve in the staff commando, the marine commando Shaietet 13 and the anti-terrorist commando Douvdevan. It’s not win. A panel of judges headed by the President of the Supreme Court in person has just announced after a long debate that it is postponing its decision pending the conclusions of the army report to examine this question.
In 25 years, 56 women have successfully completed the Air Force Academy
Just 25 years ago, Alice Miller won the High Court the right to be the first woman to enter Air Force pilot training. “This precedent changed everything,” sociologist Tamar Hermann confides to us, “at least on the principle which until then governed the army: that of a total separation between women and men concerning the distribution of military tasks. This revolution had a very strong impact on civil society. ”
If, in 25 years, 56 women have successfully completed the Air Force academy, the Miller jurisprudence has gone far beyond. In 2020, 85% of military professions are open to women. Within the border guard units, female soldiers are in the majority. The same goes for air defense or rear command units (passive defense).
The IDF has little choice: male conscription has fallen to less than 50% of an age group. The number of future conscripts exempted for medical reasons – including mental health – has increased in two years from 8 to 12%. To which is added the broad exemption of ultra-Orthodox youth. Only 1,400 of them do their service today. In addition, 13% of the soldiers mobilized drop out before the end of their service. Finally, the last aggravating element: the reduction since last July in the length of military service, which went from 32 to 30 months. Not to mention the declining motivation of young Israelis to serve in combat units.
According to the daily military affairs specialist Yediot Aharonot, Alex Fishman, the need to maintain the IDF’s operational capabilities explains the significant recruitment of women as combatants and instructors. “For the army, the argument of equality of the sexes and of opportunities is marginal,” he says. It is the principle of reality and the situation on the ground that guide it. ”
The leaders of the religious Zionist movement refuse any diversity
The parliamentary committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense received representatives of the army to explain themselves. Three deputies – a former deputy chief of Mossad, a general of the reserve and a former deputy chief of staff – gave them the same speech: “We cannot make ourselves the defenders of a liberal society based on equality. opportunities and at the same time affirm that there are areas reserved for men and others only for women. What should direct recruitment and integration into such or such a unit are the combatant’s capacities according to professional standards, on which nothing must be given up… ”
But the leaders of the religious Zionist movement refuse any mix in the fighting units. During a debate organized by the Israel Institute for Democracy, Rabbi Peretz, Minister in charge of Jerusalem, warned: “If you want religious Zionist soldiers, you have to know that we have our limits. We can put up with the problems of kashrout (the dietary laws of Judaism), of Shabbat, but if you want religious soldiers to integrate mixed units, religious Zionism will not. ”
Words which are not surprising for Tamar Hermann: “You know, to the question on the capacity of women to serve or not in the elite commandos was added the debate which puts in the secular and religious within Israeli society. In fact, two opposing pressure groups are putting pressure on the military: religious Zionists and feminist organizations. ”
A few years ago, the Institute for Democracy published a study which concluded that when the scale of compulsory conscription fell below 55%, the popular army model as defined by the founding fathers of the State would no longer be appropriate, neither economically nor socially. With compulsory conscription at less than 50%, the objective of the Israeli army is therefore to do everything to replenish the ranks if it wants to avoid being forced in a few years to opt for a professional army based on the volunteering. It is only in the next few months that we will know if the army accepts to integrate women into the holy of holies, the elite commandos.
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