A meeting between IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and heads of Hesder yeshivas over the issue of mixed-gender service in the Armored Corps was held without the participation of leaders of pre-military preparatory programs, after they chose to boycott the gathering in protest over the exclusion of Rabbi Yigal Levinstein.
According to a report by Channel 14, Zamir instructed that Rabbi Levinstein, head of a prominent pre-military academy, be removed from the list of invitees to the meeting with heads of Religious Zionist institutions that send hundreds of students to serve in the IDF.
The report said that military representatives informed Rabbi Levinstein that the Chief of Staff did not want him attending due to a letter he sent to his students in which he called on them to avoid serving in the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit because of the integration of female soldiers into the unit.
The heads of the pre-military academies viewed the decision as a slight against their institutions and their leadership, and decided not to participate in the meeting despite being invited. Some argued that barring Rabbi Levinstein - whose graduates include dozens of soldiers killed during the current war and whose institution is considered one of Religious Zionism’s leading academies - sets a precedent they cannot accept.
During the meeting, the Chief of Staff told the Hesder yeshiva leaders who attended that the IDF intends to continue integrating female soldiers into combat roles.
“One of the foundations of integrating broad segments of society into service is the implementation of the Joint Service Order - enabling service side by side without coming at the expense of others, while preserving the dignity of all those serving," Zamir said.
He added that the IDF would continue strengthening implementation of the order and other standing directives, which he said require particular attention during an extended period of war.
“As part of expanding the integration of women into key positions and combat roles - which has major operational importance and which the IDF will continue working to advance - the establishment of frameworks and the opening of positions will be carried out fully in accordance with the Joint Service Order, during routine operations, emergencies, and wartime," Zamir said.
He stressed that such moves would be carried out according to operational requirements and professional standards, “without compromises."