IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir held a meeting Tuesday with rabbis from the hesder yeshivas, due to tensions surrounding the integration of female combat soldiers in the Armored Corps.
The meeting aimed to calm tensions between the IDF and the hesder yeshivas regarding the pilot program to integrate female combat soldiers in the Armored Corps.
At the start of the meeting, Zamir expressed deep appreciation for the ongoing efforts by the yeshivas and "mechina" pre-military academies in educating and encouraging enlistment in significant service, particularly combat roles. He also noted the decisive contribution and enormous sacrifices made by yeshiva and mechina students to the IDF throughout the years and especially throughout the war, as they and other groups stood in the front lines of the nation's soldiers.
The IDF noted that during the meeting, the current personnel needs were presented, with emphasis on the required growth in manpower in light of unprecedented operational challenges and the scale of missions across all theaters of combat. Zamir clarified that the IDF still lacks thousands of combat soldiers and needs every man and woman to fulfill missions and strengthen the campaign’s achievements.
"One of the foundations for integrating a wide variety of populations in service is the implementation of the Shared Service Order - allowing this service side by side, not at the expense of each other - while maintaining the dignity of all servicemembers," Zamir told the rabbis.
He also said that he intends "to continue strengthening the implementation of this order and other routine orders, which naturally require additional diligence during such a prolonged period of combat."
According to him, "As part of expanding the integration of women into key and combat roles - which is of tremendous operational importance and which the IDF will continue to work to expand - establishing frameworks and opening positions will fully comply with the Shared Service Order in routine, emergency, and wartime situations. These measures will be implemented according to operational needs while meeting professional requirements - with no compromises."
The rabbis emphasized that they will continue educating their students for significant military service as long as this is needed. They also shared with the Chief of Staff the challenges faced by religious soldiers during their military service and raised the need for every Torah-observant soldier to be able to serve in the IDF in accordance with their beliefs and values, guided by the principles of the Shared Service Order.
Zamir concluded by noting, "The State of Israel has one army - the people’s army - which must be able to accommodate all existing complexities and enable meaningful and significant service for all segments of the population. The army's readiness requires us to successfully meet this challenge."