The Israel Defense Forces do not need women in combat roles, according to IDF Personnel Directorate head Maj. Gen. Moti Almoz at a conference Monday in Jerusalem.
This comes after Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot commented similarly at last week's Sunday cabinet meeting that he does "not envision, at this point, women being integrated into IDF units leading the charge [in battle]."
"The IDF has operational needs," Almoz said, and that he was "not a human resource firm, nor am I a body that is supposed to teach the values of equality. I need to ensure that on the day the command is given, our ranks will be ready for war – and it can be concluded from this that, in my opinion, there are places where it is inappropriate to station women to do certain tasks."
Almoz said that his statement derives not "out of values, but out of the operational needs of the IDF. I need women in many other places in the IDF, but not in the combat units."
By virtue of his position on the IDF general staff, Almoz believes the IDF has no room for political opinions, and that the military belongs to all.
"The ranks are full," he said, "you see it when talking to the youth. The motivation remains, although unlike in the past, less of them want to get into combat units. This is the task at hand for us."
In addition, Almoz argues that although some are too quick to criticize the youth for allegedly decreased motivation to serve in recent years, they are still motivated to serve in combat positions and in the IDF in general.
"The military is not a place for political disputes," Almoz said. He also said he does not have the tools to measure the number of officers who wear kippot. "As far as I'm concerned, the important thing is to have a helmet covering the head. What's under the helmet is less important – although I want it to be clear that religious Zionism's part in the military is very big."
Almoz also spoke about the external bodies that have begun integrating themselves into the IDF's teaching ranks.
"It turns out that some of the same institutions that dealt with IDF education," Almoz said, "took advantage of it for other purposes, often political ones. We block bodies that try to bring politics into the military, but this is not a move against the Military Rabbinate."
