Rabbi Ze'ev Sharon, the head of the Arzei Halevanon pre-military academy in Shiloh, praised IDF Manpower Directorate Head Moti Almoz's claim that the IDF is not promoting a feminine agenda.
Speaking at the Jerusalem Conference earlier this week, Almoz insisted that the IDF concerns itself only with its operational success, and denied involvement in any feminist agenda.
"Let's say that the IDF has bounced back a bit, and understands that in infantry, and in my opinion in the Armored Corps as well, women will not serve because it is too difficult physically," Rabbi Sharon told Arutz Sheva.
"It's true, it doesn't sound good - because maybe it implies that coed units are not fighting units, or that they're of lower quality. I understand that the army is saying that it has problems with manpower and patrols. That's for defense, not offense, so it works for them to have coed troops. Obviously, that idea is not acceptable for the religious soldiers, either."
Rabbi Sharon also discussed the incident in Jenin, when an IDF vehicle mistakenly entered the Palestinian Authority-controlled city and was attacked by PA Arabs. One of the soldiers' weapons was stolen, and a female soldier was wounded and her face was bloodied by shards of glass.
"It could have ended differently," he said. "It could have ended not just with a lynch, but with a rape. We already saw what they did to an American reporter at Tahrir Square (in Egypt - ed.). They raped her dozens of times. And it happened to a female US soldier in Iraq, too."