Dozens of rabbis and yeshivot leaders from Religious Zionism gathered for an emergency meeting, following a High Court ruling requiring the IDF to begin a pilot for integrating female fighters into the Armored Corps in the coming months.
The conference, which lasted over four hours, included representatives from all streams of religious Zionism - from the liberal line to the Haredi stream, as well as heads of Seder yeshivot, high yeshivot and pre-military preparatory schools.
The participants discussed the implications of the ruling on the service of observant soldiers in the IDF.
During the discussions, the rabbis expressed sharp criticism of the IDF and the High Court of Justice, claiming that religious soldiers are being stationed in situations that contradict their faith and halakha - and even in violation of the 'Joint Service Orders'. Some of the rabbis noted that they receive inquiries from soldiers in the field, sometimes even during operational activity, who request guidance on how to behave in mixed service situations.
According to the participants, the discussion is not about the question of women serving in the IDF, but rather the implications for the service of religious soldiers.
They claim that integrating female fighters into combat units could lead to the de facto exclusion of observant soldiers from the maneuvering formation.
At the end of a heated and in-depth discussion, there was complete unanimity among all participants regarding the seriousness of the situation and regarding the determination that "a religious soldier who strictly adheres to Halacha cannot serve in a mixed combat unit.".
All rabbis emphasized that every effort must be made to stop the trend that could exclude observant soldiers from the IDF's maneuvering formation in the immediate future - and, God forbid, turn it into a separate tribal army for religious and secular soldiers.
During the discussion, sharp and clear statements were also heard from senior yeshiva leaders, who emphasized the danger of a future rift. Rabbi Zalman Melamed said: "It is impossible for a person who is observant to serve in a mixed place. In the Zionist high yeshivahs, we decided that we will not go to Shiron as long as there is no clear decision that Shiron is not mixed.".
Rabbi Shmuel Haber said: "I educate the students according to Halacha. From the Halacha perspective, mixed service is like eating non-kosher food. It is simply forbidden. We are strict in the laws of modesty, and therefore mixed service is forbidden. It is simple.".
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