Dozens of Rabbanim and Roshei Yeshivos of Dati Leumi yeshivos convened this week for an emergency discussion in wake of the IDF’s intention to advance a pilot program to integrate women into the front-line combat units of the Armored Corps’s tank crews, Arutz Sheva reported.

During the meeting, testimonies were presented by religious soldiers who fought in Gaza, saying that female paramedics and combat soldiers were assigned to work and stay with them for prolonged periods in cramped conditions inside Namer armored personnel carriers and buildings—in violation of the army’s own mixed-service regulations. The Rabbanim warned of halachic dilemmas, declining morale, and even combat performance issues.

Other representatives noted that a similar process had previously taken place in the Artillery Corps, where “a norm of mixed-gender integration was introduced,” resulting in the effective exclusion of talmidei yeshivos from the corps. In one testimony, a Rosh Mesivta serving in the Artillery Corps described problems of inappropriate dress and shared spaces inside an APC, which, he said, impaired combat readiness.

Rabbi Dovid Fendel warned that if the pilot proceeds, the talmidim may “vote with their feet” and avoid enlisting in the Armored Corps. He called for the Rabbanim to issue an urgent letter to the Defense Ministry demanding that the plan be halted, which he described as causing serious harm to the IDF.

“The army violated its own orders,” said Rabbi Dror Aryeh of Sderot Yeshiva. “Now, in the days after a round of combat, our task is to roll back norms introduced under the pretext of wartime necessity and pikuach nefesh. Thousands of soldiers loyal to halacha remained silent and cooperated b’di’eved during the war, but it is forbidden to entrench these violations of orders for the future.”

Attorney Tzafnat Nordman presented an analysis indicating that similar integration pilots in elite units such as 669, Sayeret Matkal, and logistics convoy units ended in professional and medical failures. According to her, the IDF’s senior command is aware of these results, but IDF spokespeople continue to portray them publicly as successes due to political and legal pressure from women’s advocacy organizations.

Nordman noted that Chief Armored Officer Brig. Gen. Ohad Maor now faces a strategic decision regarding another tank pilot program scheduled for November. She emphasized the importance of Rabbanim and talmidim voicing their position amid growing external pressure and petitions to the Supreme Court.

It should be noted that last month, in an interview with Orna Yashar on the program “Zavit Yeshara” produced by the Mida website, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, the Rosh Yeshivah of the Ateret Yerushalayim Yeshiva, addressed the issue of integrating women into the IDF and into the Armored Corps in particular. Rabbi Aviner presented a firm position that women’s service in the IDF in itself is a fundamental mistake but emphasized that placing women inside tanks is a violation of halacha and constitutes a red line for the Religious Zionist public.

Rabbi Aviner stated that if the army proceeds with the plan to integrate women into tanks, he will instruct his students not to enlist in the Armored Corps. “The army is not a place for girls,” he said, adding that having men and women confined together in a tank for long periods creates an immodest situation that contradicts what he called “true integration.” He added that under such circumstances, “religious young men will choose other combat units instead of the Armored Corps.”

The discussion also touched on the physical toll experienced by female combat soldiers. Rabbi Aviner said that women are not physically suited for such strenuous loads and face serious risks of long-term injuries. The interviewer, Orna Yashar, shared her own experience as a former officer, explaining that she had carried heavy equipment in service and only began suffering medical problems years later.

Beyond the health aspect, Rabbi Aviner said that mixed-gender integration weakens the IDF’s military effectiveness. “It lowers the level of the unit,” he said, adding that many officers have decried the fact that the integration of women into such roles undermines the overall strength and cohesion of their teams.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)