Naftali Bennett
Naftali BennettFlash 90

Dozens of religious Zionist rabbis have signed a petition calling on Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) not to fund organizations that encourage religious girls to enlist in the IDF.

The petition was written against the background of the Religious Education Administration publishing a draft for public review of documents expressing support for informal activities to provide information, guidance, and assistance to students in the religious Zionist education system who wish to learn about the opportunities for service in the IDF.

The petition states that it is the "way of the land" (the proper way for things to be done, ed.) for religious Zionist girls to do national service instead of army service and highlighted the fact that supporting national service is not the same thing encouraging recruitment to the IDF.

The rabbis wrote that "the position of the religious Zionist rabbis regarding the issue of the enlistment of women into the IDF has always been consistent with the position of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel - that religious girls should not serve in the military."

Among the rabbis who signed the petition were Ramat Gan Chief Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Aryeh Stern, Rabbi Yeshayahu Maitlis, Rabbi Nachum Rabinovitz, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, and Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira.

The Religious Education Administration published the documents supporting the encouragement of religious girls to serve in the IDF in response to a ruling of the High Court that the Administration must provide support and assistance to religious students who wish to enlist in the IDF.

The first Chief Rabbis of Israel ruled that girls must not serve in the IDF and the IDF responded by allowing girls who declare that they are observant to receive exemptions. The rabbis were motivated by the halakha that prohibits an unmarried young woman to be subordinate to a man who is not her parent., as this can lead to the girl being taken advantage of. The rabbis werealso afraid of the lax relations between the sexes in the army and of the difficulty of keeping the laws of modesty in a military milieu.