Left-wing organizations are outraged over the cancellation of the Armored Corps combat pilot that was closed at the beginning of the week at the senior command's decision.
The Israel Women's Network, Free Israel, Hadash, the Secular Forum, WIZO, and the Reform Center co-sponsored an "exhaustion of remedies" letter to Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, Personnel Directorate head Major General Motti Almoz, Military Prosecutor General Sharon Afek, and to the Advisor to the Chief of Staff on Gender Issues Brigadier General Sharon Nir.
In the letter, the organizations claim the move to abolish the armored warfare course "critically violates the basic right of women to dignity and equality, and the considerations guiding the IDF are extraneous considerations."
The organizations are threatening to petition the Supreme Court and to restore their success more than two decades ago in the Alice Miller case, when the IDF was forced to combine genders in air force squadrons by order of former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak.
As announced earlier this week, the official reason for the IDF decision Sunday is cost-benefit calculations, according to which it is necessary to create separate training and not to create new combat units at the expense of other units.
Female soldiers who have been trained to operate tanks will be placed in other combat units such as the Caracal Infantry Battalion.
Among those welcoming the cancellation were former Minister and Brig. Gen. (res.) Avigdor Kahalani, the hero of the Valley of Tears battle who opposed the move from its inception. "The decision not to allow the fighters to be in tanks was clear to me that it would happen two years ago when they started this move," Kahalani told Arutz Sheva at an event commemorating fallen IDF soldiers at the Jerusalem Convention Center. "It took time for them to internalize and understand what I already knew throughout the years.
"There's no discrimination against women, I favor them being placed in all positions in the world, but I don't think they should be at the attacking level, to send them over enemy lines, and to return as my fighters did. We haven't reached this point and there's no need for it. The decision is correct and wise."
The Battle Heritage organization told Arutz Sheva, "Today everyone understands the IDF's goal is to win at war. Outside intervention in army considerations dragged the IDF back and it was good that Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi consulted his compass and announced he'd return the IDF on track.
"Extreme Left organizations think in their war on Judaism to disintegrate the IDF and bring women into combat units and kill two birds with one stone: Besides harming the girls, this harms the strength of the IDF and realizing its goal of winning at war."