A new statement from IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi requires soldiers to tolerate performances deemed immodest by halacha (Jewish law) in the name of group unity. In a letter issued by the Chief of Staff's Office, Ashkenazi writes that performances for soldiers are IDF activities for all intents and purposes, and soldiers must attend them. He added, “After the performance begins, if a soldier feels that what is happening on stage does not suit his religious views, he is not required to look directly or to play an active role.”
Leaving the hall during the performance would be detrimental to the unit's cohesion, and to performers' ability to get their message across to the soldiers present, he added. While ordering soldiers to remain in place for the sake of group bonding, Ashkenazi called on those who plan IDF events to take soldiers' religious needs into concern.
In March, the IDF's BaMachaneh magazine reported that large groups of religiously-observant soldiers had begun walking out of performances that included women singing or dancing on stage. Brigadier-General Eli Shermeister, head of the Education and Youth Corps, called the phenomenon “worrisome”. The IDF Rabbinate ruled that there was no justification for forcing religious soldiers to be present at a performance that violates halacha and called on the army find a “creative solution” by releasing the soldiers from all or part of the event, or by changing the contents of the event to allow all soldiers to take part.
A religious Zionist source says the ruling ignores the rabbi's request for creativity.