Editor's Notes: High Court ruling on women in tanks deepens religious divide in IDF

A recent High Court of Justice order mandating a pilot program for integrating female combat soldiers into the Armored Corps has intensified a religious divide within the Israel Defense Forces. The court's directive requires the army to launch the examination by November, prompting a strong reaction from religious Zionist circles.

In response, the heads of 12 hesder yeshivot, which combine religious study with military service, issued a declaration. They stated that service in tanks under such conditions is prohibited by halacha, or Jewish law, and announced they would cease sending their students to tank units. This position rapidly gained support, growing to include 25 yeshivot within days.

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The High Court has put us in an impossible position.

The IDF is navigating a complex situation, with a senior officer describing the dilemma as "impossible." The army faces a trade-off between integrating a small number of female soldiers each year and potentially losing dozens of hesder soldiers in every draft cohort. Regulations currently aim to prevent men and women from serving in the same tank frameworks, but the court's order challenges this.

This confrontation has overshadowed the performance of all-female tank crews on October 7. These crews from the Caracal Battalion's armored force reportedly engaged terrorists for 17 hours along the Gaza border, killing approximately 50 militants and preventing the attack from advancing further south. Their brigade commander credited them with breaking the assault. This event, where female crews proved their combat effectiveness in a separate framework, should have offered a solution satisfying both integration advocates and religious objectors, but the ensuing legal and institutional battles have escalated past this potential resolution.

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The most celebrated women in the history of the Armored Corps proved themselves in exactly the kind of separate framework the army’s own regulations promise religious soldiers.